Days Go On
by TheSpectrum890
Summary: Short stories to read in your free time, ready to boost your spirits and warm your heart, or even make you cry. A bit of Bracken and Kendra. Um, this story's kind of dead now. Sorry. Enjoy what could've been. Continue if you want.
1. Constructive Criticism

Days Go On

100 Fablehaven stories to get you through the day

**Constructive Criticism**

Seth Sorenson examined his sister's painting—she was getting better and better every day—with a thoughtful expression. She had painted the pond on that day when Patton Burgess and Broadhoof had fought; even the naiads' heads were above the surface, watching in annoyance at Patton 'coming back from the dead', but also curiosity, as everyone else had in their eyes. No one knew it was possible to have a centaur in the position that he was in the painting. Patton had a smirk on his face, and Broadhoof's tight face was wincing and grimacing as Patton threatened to break him, one bone by one.

Kendra walked into the room, followed by Bracken.

"Wow, Kendra, you painted this? It isn't a paint-by-number?" Bracken exclaimed.

She nodded, pride dancing across her face. "Yeah, I did. They don't make paint-by-numbers for scenes that only a few people have seen."

"I think you could've done a better job on Patton's face—his face was a bit scruffy from not shaving, and—" Seth began, but Kendra's exasperated sigh cut him off.

"God, Seth! I paint an amazing picture, and you just _have _to criticize!"

He grinned. "It's called 'constructive criticism, Kendra. All I'm saying is that you should've done a better job."

"Seth, I can't believe you stared at this painting for half an hour and all you can do is find the worst things about it. Only you can do that," Kendra growled.

He shrugged, then pointed at the Fairy Queen's island. "I'm pretty sure that astrid wasn't there."

Kendra closed her eyes and face-palmed. "Seth, I noticed him, even if you didn't. Can't you just be happy with my skills?"

"Don't worry, Kendra, he's just jealous," Bracken said, setting an arm around her shoulders and winking at Seth.

She flips back her hair. "Whatever," She said, strutting out of the room like a model. Bracken stayed behind, smiling knowingly at Seth. He pointed at the painting. "So what do you really think about it?"

Seth gave in. "It's amazing! I seriously wish I had that kind of skill, but exploring adventurers don't have time for _painting._" He said 'painting' as if he was saying _eating sewer rats with extra slime._

Bracken laughed. "Wow, Seth. I didn't know you had it in you to compliment your sister, unless, of course, she just killed the Demon King."

Seth laughed, too. "Okay, Kendra, you can come out now!" He called.

Kendra, along with Warren, Vanessa, and Mom and Dad, walked out from a few stairs below. "You get less idiotic every day!" Kendra gasped teasingly.

Seth rolled his eyes. "I still don't like it."

"Why not?"

"_I'm _not in it. Newel and Doren aren't in it either."

Kendra walked over to the painting and pointed at a cluster of fingers coming from the side. "I put you in it, see? There're your fingers!"

Seth, being the mischievous boy he was, poked the still-drying paint that made up Kendra's face. Then, with the slightest flick of his wrist, he slipped the paint away so that a space the size of his finger was smeared. "There. Much better!"

Kendra gasped. "Do you know how long it took me to paint that?"

Seth glanced at the clock. "Um, an hour?"

"No. Three! God, Seth, you are SUCH an IDIOT!" She exploded, storming out of the room and down the stair. Her little crowd follows.

Seth pulled a piece of what looked like tape off of the painting where Kendra's face was supposed to be. The original face appeared again, nervous yet enticed.

"Thanks again, Bracken, for that weird fairy stuff," Seth laughed.

"Anytime. I used to do that to my sisters all the time when I was a few hundred years younger. Ah, the glory days."

Warren walked into the room, as he also was filled in on the prank. "Now _that_ is what I call constructive criticism."


	2. Boy Drama

**Boy Drama**

Kendra skipped into the house, a giddy expression on her face. She fell onto the couch, sighing blissfully. "You'll _never _guess what happened to me today!" She said. The only problem was: there was no one in the room to acknowledge her joyous statement.

"Hey, Kendra, is that you?" Warren's voice called from the hall. He stepped out of the hallway and waved at Kendra, then lowed his hand cautiously. "What did Bracken say to you…?" He asks, as if he doesn't really want to know.

Kendra sighed. "Oh, nothing. It'd just be girl talk to you."

He sat down on the chair. "I have a girlfriend," He reminds her.

"An amazingly amazing girlfriend who knows how to make poison and kill demons," Kendra sulked, "I'll just wait for her to come back from wherever she is."

"You killed the Demon King," He said, "If we weren't related, I'd have kissed you by now."

Kendra would've blushed if she hadn't been thinking about Bracken's offer. "I guess. Anyway, I _could _tell Seth. He never listens to anything I say unless it's about something like dragons or whatever."

"Come on, girl, spit it out," Warren said, grinning.

"You sure? I'll be talking so fast, only girls who are used to gossip will be able to understand."

"Shoot. I can handle it."

"Omigod-Braken-just-asked-if-I-wanted-to-go-with-him-to-his-house-and-have-dinner-with-him-and-his-sisters-and-the-Fairy-Queen!" Kendra shrieked with glee.

Warren blinked. "Okay, you were right. I didn't understand a word of that apart from the 'oh my God'."

Kendra laughed. "Told you!"

"Whatevs, girl." Warren rolled his eyes like a valley girl, sauntering out of the room.

"You suck at dramatic exists!" Kendra called after him. Then she, too, rolled her eyes and left the room, out to talk to the fairies that were now talking back, seeing that she was nicer than they thought.

"Hello, Kendra!" A slender fairy with long green hair and wings like a dragonfly's greets her.

"Hello, Jasmine," Kendra responded with a smile. Jasmine was like her own sister—apart from being a fairy, of course. Kendra trusted her like a sister, too.

"How are you?" Jasmine asked, flitting over to her and settling on a nearby branch.

"Oh, just looking for someone to talk to," Kendra said.

Jasmine gestured at herself. "Well, here I am!"

"Here you are," Kendra agreed.

"So, what would you like to talk about, Kendra?"

"Well, Bracken asked…"

"Wait, Bracken the _unicorn?_ Bracken the Fairy Queen's _son?_" Jasmine gasped.

"Yes, but you knew that he and I are together."

"Right, right. Go on. What did he ask?"

"He asked if I wanted to have dinner with him and his family tomorrow night, and I don't know what to say," Kendra admitted.

"Ooh, you sly dog! Not literally, of course," Jasmine said.

"Yeah. I'm not sure if I should say yes, or…"

"Well, of course you should say yes!" A new voice called.

Kendra turned around to see Raxtus, her best friend who just so happened to be a dragon—a rather small one at that.

"Raxtus!" Kendra exclaimed happily, "Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, places…" Raxtus said vaguely.

Kendra grinned. "Did you enjoy seeing your father again?"

"He says hi."

"Next time you see him, tell him I say hi, too. Also, You heard what Bracken asked, right?"

"How couldn't I, with you screaming it to the world?"

"I was almost whispering."

"Ssh," Raxtus shushes her jokingly.

Bracken's voice calls from the edge of the yard. "Kendra?"

Kendra grinned even bigger than before, and her eyes lit up. "Bracken!" She answers, her heart racing faster than her feet as she sped across the lush green grass and into his arms.

Bracken catches her without even an _oof._ "Well, someone seems excited. Have you decided yet?"

"I'll come! I can't wait to see the Fairy Queen again!"

"She's practically your mother, too. And you see her almost once a month," Bracken reminded her.

"Shut it, Bracken. You're about to ruin my amazing mood," Kendra teased.

He rolled his startling silver eyes. "Whatever."

Kendra giggled. "You act the age you look whenever I'm around," She said, smiling.

He smiled, too. "I feel the age I look when you're around. You're such an inspiration," He said, kissing her neck.

Kendra slid away, a wary expression on her face. "Let me guess: your sister got dates, too."

"How'd you guess?"


	3. A somewhat intimidating author's note

**Look at me with all my author's notes! Anyway, this one is really, REALLY important. It has to do with my writing. **

**I've got a problem. **

**Yeah, I know, everyone has problems, but this one's a big problem for you guys.**

**I've got a writer's block. I can't think of anything! So, I'm asking **_**you.**_

**That's right, **_**YOU!**_

**I need you to give me some ideas in reviews. This isn't a scam to get reviews, I have an unbearable writer's block and it's driving me NUTS. **

**Also, I'll know it if you think **_**Oh, whatever, someone else will post a few,**_** and I will HUNT YOU DOWN.**

**Who knows what I'll do! So please, I hate having this huge gap in my brain where my amazingly amazing writing ideas should be! Help, help, and more help is severely in order!**

**In need of your help, **

**Nicki**


	4. Fights

**A/N= Omigod! Thanks SOOOO much to spiritdreamer111! I love you in a friendly way! You saved my life! I thought I was going to shrivel into a corpse and DIE, then become a zombie and eat everyone one of you who didn't care enough to help.**

**Fights**

Seth leaped out of the house, pulling on his gloves. He fell into the 15-inch snow with a giddy laugh. Might as well enjoy the snow before the fairies melt it all. Thankfully, they weren't _as _scornful as they used to be; saving the world gives a bit of popularity among those who know about it. The knees of his jeans started to freeze into place, and he pushed himself to his feet.

"Hey, Warren! Tanu! Bracken! Come out here! The snow is perfect for packing!" Seth shouted in the direction of the house.

Warren peered through the door. "What? Wh—"

He was cut off by a snowball in the face. "Hey! I'll…"

Seth hit him again, this time in the neck. Warren danced around the porch, yelling about snow down his shirt. Seth laughed. Warren ran inside and emerged a few minutes later with a coat, and also Tanu and Bracken, who just so happened to be wearing winter coats.

Tanu started to say something, but stopped and dodged a huge snowball. He grinned at Seth. "Gotta try harder than that!"

Bracken leapt over the railing and rolled into the snow, listening to it crunch and pack itself together from his weight. He stood, packing some snow into a ball. "Huh. It's pretty good, but there's only one way to test."

"How?" Seth asked.

"Well, like this!" he said, whacking Seth in the stomach with an icy cold snowball.

"Ah! Bracken! That must be cheating, somehow!" Seth exclaimed.

They were both assaulted with snow as Tanu and Warren hurried to be the superior.

Seth and Bracken crouched into an offensive position. "This means war!" Seth shouted, chucking a snowball at Warren. He leapt to the side.

The four men—acting more like boys—shouted and yelled and shrieked like girls as their necks, chests, and faces were pelted with the balls of snow. Finally, Kendra was too curious to just listen to the boys shout. She opened a window and leaned out, shivering with cold. She watched the people for a moment before rushing down the stairs, pulling on a coat and gloves, then racing outside. She grabbed two fistfuls of snow from the railing and hit Warren and Tanu right in the back of the neck. The men shouted and spun around, only to be attacked from the front by Seth and Bracken. Kendra dove down the stairs of the porch and held up a hand for the throwing to cease. It did; people tend to listen to the girl who killed the Demon King.

"I'm going to get Vanessa, then we're going to fight this battle the _real _way; with mounds of snow for protection and a stock full of snowballs. 'Kay?" she declared.

The boys stared at her in amazement. "What? And you think that we're going to let a girl join our snowball fight?" Seth gasped.

She eyed him with disdain. "What are you, sexist?"

He blinked, then pulled something from his pocket and threw it at Kendra. She danced to the side just as a half-melted snowball flew six inches from her face.

She grinned at Seth and held up a finger. "Ah, ah, ah! Tsk tsk, Sethie, you should try listening to people for once!" Kendra scolded teasingly. She spun on her heel—very gracefully for someone up to her knees in snow—and zipped into the house to find Vanessa, giving the boys what seemed like a flirtatious flutter of fingers. Seth knew better. She was doing that in a _just wait, we'll kick your butts_ kind of a way.

Bracken sighed from Seth's side. "She's lovely."

Seth scoffed. "Yeah, lovely at being bossy."

"That's what makes her so amazing. She's so… remarkable. I love it. I'm in love with it," he breathed.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Don't you be getting all sappy on me; Vanessa and Kendra will probably convince the fairies to help destroy us."

Just then, she sashayed out of the house like a dancer, Vanessa in tow. Before confronting the boys, she murmured something to a nearby fairy, and then grinned. She then flipped back her hair and joined Vanessa at the bottom of the porch stairs.

"So!" Vanessa shouted, "Everyone, pick a spot for a 'fort'. We're either going to do this the right way or we won't do it at all."

The males nodded their heads vigorously, rushing around the yard to find the best place for a fort.

"Vanessa," Kendra whispered, "we should have ours on the porch, because if the boys make big snowballs—and they always do—they'll just break on their way through the bars on the railing."

"Good idea," Vanessa answered, scooping up snow and tossing it onto the porch. The girls got to work making a good wall of snow, and once it was about three feet tall and thick enough to withstand strong throws, they made as many snowballs as they can—Kendra making hard, icy ones and Vanessa making soft, breakable ones. After they were done, they reclined against the top step and watched the boys growl and shake their fists at the collapsed piles of snow.

Vanessa picked up a snowball. "Throw?"

"Throw," Kendra agreed, taking one of her own and throwing it at Bracken. Vanessa chucked hers at Warren, and both the girls laughed when the men spun around, glaring at the first person they saw.

At that moment, chaos erupted. Snowballs flew through the sky and laughter filled the air. The sound of people hooting with cold made the laughter even louder and more rambunctious.

Finally, after hours of guffawing and hurling snowballs, the six friends collapsed on the broken down snow in exhaustion, panting with fatigue. After a moment, Bracken stood and offered Kendra his hand. She took it with a grin and followed him into the house. The other four shadowed the couple, and as soon as he saw Kendra and Bracken beaming at them with hot cocoa mugs in their hands, Seth knew there was more trouble on the way—trouble that involved chocolate, lack of mugs, and yet another fight.

Ah, winter. Best season of the year.


	5. Homework

**A/N= Hey, thanks, people. And, foofoo, okay. I won't use the Lord's name in vain. Sorry! I get yelled at by my mom a lot for that, but I'm kinda SURROUNDED by those who use that, so it's getting harder. Thanks for reminding me!**

Homework

Kendra growled menacingly. Her downward glare was cast right at her homework. The stupid periodic table. She took online classes, and she had printed out her homework so she didn't have to download it and everything. In her right hand she clutched a Ticonderoga pencil with an orange eraser on top, and in her left hand she held a small, flat stone, turning it over and spinning it around and rubbing the shallow hollow on one side with her thumb. Grandma Larson had gotten it for her; she had called it a thinking stone. It was a dark gray with little sections glimmering from its depths. When she showed it to Bracken, he told her it was also what the fairies called a wishing stone; you held it in your left hand and made a wish, then carried it on your person or slept with it under your pillow at night. So, she used it for both. Right now, she was both wishing she could somehow memorize all the elements and thinking as hard as she could, trying to recall what element's symbol RF was.

Seth strode into the room. "Hey, Kendra. How's the homework coming?" Kendra could hear the smirk in his voice without even looking at him. "Ack. Leave me alone, Mr. Homeworkless."

"Oh, Kendra, Kendra, Kendra. It's just the periodic table, how hard can it be?" Kendra could feel his breath over her shoulder. "Oh. Never mind."

Kendra rolled her eyes and repeated what she said earlier, and thankfully, Seth complied. He straightened his back and strode out of the room, flipping his head as if he had longer hair, which he didn't. Kendra just stared back at the ink-covered paper, her pencil poised to write down an answer she didn't know. She hated not knowing. It was infuriating.

A silver cat trotted in to the room. After she had become an Eternal, her little protector had come almost instantly. He preferred to disguise himself as a cat.

He jumped onto the table and tilted his head at her.

"Sam!" Kendra moaned, "I can't do this! It's just… Agh!"

"Really, Kendra, it's not as hard as you think. And once you learn it, it won't really matter. It's not like you'll be getting a job," Sam said.

"Wow. Way to brighten my day, cat." She crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down on them. Maybe she could take a break. Just a short one. Ten minutes? Fifteen? Maybe she could just ask Bracken do to it; he's centuries old! Or, maybe she could just ask Bracken to join her, just for company. He could help her, right? He was the smartest person she's known in her entire life. Bracken would be the best helper she could get. But wouldn't Tanu need to know the periodic table, if he was combining all these things to make potions that work? But were the elements he used on the table?

"So complicated," Kendra muttered into her arms. Sam nuzzled his head against her elbow, his nose chilly against her skin. She stood up and walked out the door of the room, descending the stairs and into the outdoors. Newel and Doren were in an intense conversation with Seth at the corner of the yard, and they didn't acknowledge when she closed the door. She trotted out of the yard, in the direction of the pond. Fairies fluttered around her, chirping cheerful hellos. Kendra returned them until her throat was dry, and even then she gave them smiles. She didn't want to lose her popularity amongst the fairies; they were good company to have.

"Kendra!" a super-familiar voice greeted her.

"Hi, Bracken," she sighed, stepping into his arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Homework. The periodic table," Kendra answered with another sigh.

He held her at arms' length. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

He grinned, his eyes sparkling. "Amazing! I have them all memorized, which was hard, because I learned it almost fifty years ago, and they keep finding more… Anyway, what do you need help with?"

"RF," she said.

"Rutherfordium," Bracken responded with a smirk.

She whacked his chest lightly. "Show off," she muttered, flipping her hair behind her shoulders. He let her go and she began to trot off, back to her work. Bracken followed and babbled about how his father was doing.

_He gets more and more social every day, _Kendra thought, _compared to his useless words in prison._

So, they talked on the way back. Kendra held back from taking the long way back, so they could talk, since she wanted to do anything but her homework. She found it saddening that her world in school had taken such a rough, tight turn. She used to be excited to have her homework not finished, since it meant time to think about something other than a certain unicorn or problems with Fablehaven. She used to be awed by how fluently the teachers talked about all the things Kendra had yet to learn, but now she was getting tired of their knowing words, of their habits of giving her 'extra credit' homework. Kendra figured they only did it to say, _Oh look, my students are smarter than yours, because I have to give them smarty-kid papers!_

She found herself biting her lip as they ascended the stairs to the small room with the desk in which Kendra's homework rested. Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson had given her permission to use it, just for her online schooling. A cheap, used Apple Macintosh with a keyboard and mouse that you had to plug in rested on the corner of the black walnut table, and an uncomfortable chair was pushed about three feet away from it.

Bracken whistled. "Stan let you get a Mac? Lucky you!"

"No time for sarcasm, Unicorn Boy, this must be serious." Vanessa's voice drifted from the doorway. Kendra couldn't say she wasn't glad to have the narcoblix in the room, for, if her guess was correct, Vanessa had some experience in this topic, too.

Bracken was now adjusted to having to share the home with Vanessa, since he stayed some nights in the living room. "Hello, blix," he greeted her with just a hint of scorn in his voice.

"No need to be hateful, this is just a piece of paper with figures on it," Vanessa shrugged off his tone, reminding Kendra of how calm Vanessa really is.

"Gosh, people, can we just get to the homework?" she exclaimed, breaking the almost nonexistent strand of tension. "It's not that hard, I was just stuck on _one _element. That's all!"

The unicorn and the narcoblix blinked. "Oh," Vanessa said, "I thought this had to do with algebra or something."

"Algebra?" Bracken scoffed. "Again, no problem."

"Whatever! Thanks, Vanessa; thanks, Bracken."

Bracken tipped his head to one side slightly. "Does that mean I have to go?"

"No, just… ah. Leave when you want to. Let me do my effing homework, though, unless you don't want me to finish. I can just blow it off like every other kid my age does, if _that's _what you want," Kendra snapped, collapsing onto the chair and continued with her homework. The two adults left the room in a daze like parents whose teenager was being a brat.

Of course, she kind of was.


	6. Acceptance

**A/N= Remember, all, reviews reviews reviews! Everyone loves them! I really want to know what you think so I can improve. Seriously, I only want to get better at writing. So… Criticism is WELCOME!**

Acceptance

Seth saw Kendra leave the house. He didn't want to follow her, because she was probably just headed to the pond, but after ten minutes of somewhat-suspense, he couldn't help it. He called to Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson that he was going out and he raced out the door. The whole forest seemed very happy and almost even safe today, just resting in the sun, but Seth knew better. Who knows what creatures could be out on a day like today? Of course, the dark ones probably wouldn't be out, but Seth didn't want to take his chances again. He wasn't afraid, no, not at all, but he had learned to be safe. His whole life once centered on danger and adventure, and he knew that it made him a bit of a brat, but he knew better now. He grabbed the dagger that Warren had been teaching him to fight with (just in case), and he headed off into the woods after Kendra.

"Seriously, Verl, this stuff has to stop. These… ah… gifts are really making me uncomfortable." Kendra's voice glided through the trees, and Seth hurried forward. He ducked down behind a bush when he saw Kendra and Verl in a small meadow, close to Newel and Doren's tennis court. There was a small hole in the bush that was just the right size for him to watch and listen.

"Oh, but Kendra! I can't help it! Your essence, I must let out my feelings for you!" Verl wailed.

_What a nerd,_ Seth thought, but he stayed silent, no matter how much he wanted to laugh.

"Verl, I can't let this go on," said a voice coming from right in front of the bush. It sounded like Bracken.

"But I love Kendra!" was Verl's responsive howl.

"If you… er… loved me, you'd let me go without a fight. You two were fighting when I got here." Seth guessed that only he and Bracken heard the tint of pleading in her voice. "Really, you can't keep this up."

"I can and I will!" he whined.

Seth finally saw Bracken as he stepped to Verl and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked as handsome as ever. "I know you want to, Verl, and you can, but not with Kendra. Kendra… well, Kendra probably wants to tell you this herself."

Kendra, too, stepped up to Verl, but she didn't touch him. "I love Bracken, Verl. Not you."

"NO!" he cried. "I love you, though!"

"No, you don't. Search your heart, Verl, and you'll see that this was just a silly crush. There'll be a hamadryad that loves you as much as you thought you loved me, and then you'll be as happy as I am." Kendra smiled warmly at the devastated young satyr. "And you'll know the merriment I feel every day."

_How sappy,_ Seth thought, but the opinion was soiled when the formerly love-struck satyr and the gentle fairykind girl hugged as if none of this happened at all.

"See you, Verl," Bracken said, shaking hands with him.

"Bye. Thank you, Kendra. There _has_ been this cute little walnut hamadryad…" Verl trailed off, muttering to himself and trotting out of the hollow. Kendra and Bracken hugged momentarily before there was a whisper of, "Are we out of popcorn?" and a response of, "Aw, man, I think we are."

Seth spun on the balls of his feet slowly to gaze behind him. Two more satyrs were holding a bucket upside-down and frowning.

"Newel! Doren! What are you doing here?" Seth hissed.

They glanced up at him. "Oh, hi, Seth. We're watching the show. I'd offer you popcorn, but fattie here had to eat the rest," Newel whispered harshly, glaring like friends do in Doren's direction.

"Got any batteries? We found this in the tar pit," Doren held up an old fashioned radio with the two big, circular speakers on both sides and that dial thing in the middle.

"Nope. At home," Seth answered. "Now go away, I've got to get home before Kendra and—"

"You little creeper!" Kendra said teasingly.

Seth closed his eyes and again turned on tiptoe. "Hello, Kendra. I was just conversing with the satyrs here. Look what they found!"

"Bracken knew you were coming. It's not like you were invisible behind that not-so-dense bush, you know," Kendra giggled.

Seth slumped and stood up, brushing dirt from his jeans and beginning to walk home.

"Hey," Bracken called after him. Seth turned. "When you get back, would you mind not telling anyone about this little encounter?"

"Will you get the fairies to let the yard get frosty again?" Seth countered.

"Deal." And that was that.

**REMEMBER TO REVIEW! AND FOR THOSE MAXIMUM RIDE FANS, READ MY OTHER STORIES! PRETTY PLEASE? REVIEWS!**


	7. Valentines in Church

Valentines in Church

For the first time in a while, in January, Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson decided it was time for them to attend church. Kendra was ecstatic, but Seth was a bit reluctant in the beginning. In the end, though, everything brightened.

It was February 13; the church the Sorensons went to was having a small party for the children younger than 18 but older than 12. That included Kendra and Seth, who had met some people. Seth, especially. He stepped in after his sister (so as not to give the impression that they were related) and saw the girl he had met on the third Sunday there. He had known before that she had long, straight blonde hair, but never before had it seemed to gleam to nicely and prettily. He had known before that she always wore jeans and a somewhat-fancy shirt to church, but in her black skinnies and her hot pink blouse, she seemed more attractive than ever. She was like his Bracken!

"Hi, Seth!" she called over cheerily, sashaying over to him. He grinned at her.

"Hi, Lila," he said back. Did his voice crack, or was it just him that heard it?

She gestured at the surrounding decorations of hearts and various pink ribbons and balloons. "So? What do you think? I helped decorate because I got here early!"

"It's awesome!" Seth exclaimed, "I really like that mistletoe died pink. That's really Christmas-y, but it fits!"

She blushed. "I suppose so. It was an accident, really. I slipped while moving it, and it fell into the pink paint. It worked, though, didn't it?"

He nodded and looked up at the band that played every other week. They began singing _Olive You_ by Dave Days. He saw Kendra chatting animatedly with a boy who looked a bit older than her. She laughed, beaming at the guy, but Seth saw in her eyes that she wasn't _as_ happy as she would have been if it were Bracken.

"Seth? Did you hear me?"

"What?" Seth jumped, spinning to face the confused Lila. She tilted her head, gazing at him too calmly for Seth's taste.

"I asked if you wanted to take a walk outside. It's a bit stuffy in here," she repeated with a small smile. He ran a hand through his hair and followed her out the back door to the garden. The sky was a dark gray, threatening heavy rain. It was brisk. No one was there apart from a few church people talking about the little kids' program. When they saw the two young teenagers, they smiled knowingly and retreated back indoors.

Seth didn't like their grins.

"So, Seth. Where do you live?" Lila asked. She had sat down on one of the benches that had been cleared of its thin veil of snow.

"Uh… nowhere you'd know," he answered vaguely. Lila frowned a bit.

"Why can't I know?" she asked.

"You know what's weird? I don't know your favorite color or your last name," Seth said quickly, changing the subject. Lila didn't seem too eager about the change, but she answered almost instantly.

"I like aquamarine, and my last name is Rapty." She flushed for a moment and added quietly, "You can laugh, if you want. I don't care. I'm used to it."

"Why would I laugh? Anyway, my favorite color is green, and my last name is Sorenson," Seth said quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets.  
He was keenly aware that he was standing while she was sitting. He fiddled with the little coin Bracken had given him the year before, in the Living Mirage, his thoughts on Lila and only Lila, not on how the coin actually worked.

Lila smiled softly. "Well, Seth Sorenson, have you been told that you're the nicest person in the world?" she whispered as softly as she had smiled.

He stared at the mossy sidewalk bricks, avoiding her gaze completely. "Obnoxious, yes. Brave, yes. Stupid, yes. Nice, no."

She laughed a bit. "So that's a no?"

"Yes."

"Yes, you have?"

"No, yes, as in no."

"So it is a no."

"No! It's… Ah! I have not been called nice!" he said irritably. The weather was doing absolutely nothing to brighten his mood; a gust of cold air rushed and swirled between their warm bodies as Lila stood up.

"What? Is it that you can't stand to be around me like this for more than five minutes without someone else around? Or is it that you just can't stand me altogether?" she hissed. Her breath billowed out in a narrow thread, drifting into the air high above them and out of sight.

"No! Lila, I swear, I've never had as much fun anywhere than when I'm with you. Really." He didn't actually plead, but his tone was enough to make the girl soften.

"Sorry," she murmured, moving to get around him and back inside. "I'll just go back in and hang with my sister."

"No," Seth said, holding out an arm to prevent her from going any farther around him. "I mean, please don't. Really. I like hanging out with you here."

She gazed into his eyes. "You're not lying." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"No, I'm not. Please. You honestly are the coolest person I've ever met, and I've met some pretty cool people." _A dragon, a unicorn, a golem, a centaur, a satyr, to name a few, _Seth added in his head.

"Okay, fine. I believe you. But I'm getting chilly. Can we go in?" Lila asked.

He took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. "It's crowded in there. You told me last week that you're crowd-claustrophobic."

"Enochlophobic would be the proper term, I think," she said, shivering again. Seth grinned mischievously and held out his arms, his hands still fists to keep in the warmth.

"I have body heat!" he said, laughing a bit. She smiled and stepped forward, settling in against his warmth. She smelled like vanilla and brown sugar. They talked about anything and everything, Lila wrapped in Seth's 'body-heated' arms.

"Seth? _Seth!_ _SETH!"_ a voice shouted. "Oh—ohhh… I see what's going on here. Well, Seth, we're leaving in less than two minutes. You guys missed the service. Lila, your mom says that you have as long as you want, just come back with a smile and a confession."

Seth knew it was Kendra. He glanced up and saw her retreating back inside. A quick peek at the huge garden clock told him that it was after lunchtime, about. The service ended at 1:00, and it was 1:13. Seth untwined himself with Lila and looked down at her; he was taller by almost six inches. Lila's dark hazel eyes stared right into his, giving him the impression that she was reading his soul. The only thing keeping him from looking away was the absence of seriousness in her eyes. She normally had a nice, composed air about her, but now, she smiled at him slightly with amusement.

"So? Are you gonna kiss me or what?"

Seth didn't gasp. He didn't admit to himself that he had never kissed anyone before. He didn't bite his lip and mutter an excuse. He just strode forward and brushed his lips against hers. It wasn't an awe-inspiring kiss like in the movies, but a gentle, sweet, (I-Don't-Really-Know-What-I'm-Doing-'Cause-It's-My-First-Try), kind of kiss.

It was enough for Lila. She let him go when he left, knowing all too well that he probably wasn't coming back to the church.

Although, before he did leave for good, Seth slipped a small pink paper heart in the pocket of his first kiss, the words _See you, Valentine_ written upon it in thin purple ink.

…

Meanwhile, miles away, back at the house in Fablehaven, a unicorn stuck in human form was grinning, a small coin clenched within his fingertips.


	8. A Strange Conversation

A Strange Conversation

"I've never actually understood how the Easter Bunny gets into the house," Seth said after a long, thoughtful silence. "Or about how weird he is when he does. I mean, what kind of person just finds a way into your house and hides little jelly bean-filled eggs around your house and puts little baskets of chocolate on the kitchen table? How, exactly, does he know how to get in? Or where to hide them? Or does he just walk in and find random places to hide even though he's never seen the place before?"

"Well, he might have seen it before," Kendra suggested.

"Can we say stalker?" Seth asked sarcastically. "I seriously doubt the Easter Bunny knows his way around your house and your yard from about two minutes of hiding a couple plastic eggs."

"Let's say that you're right," Bracken said. "He stalks all the children in the world in one—_one—_year, each one for long enough that he'll know his way around your house. How can one possibly accomplish that?"

"Uh, DUH. He gets help from Santa Claus. They both have religious holidays, so they must be friends. The Easter Bunny asks Santa about some kids' houses, and he stalks the ones Santa didn't tell him much about! How hard can it be?"

Kendra shook her head. "Seth, I worry about you sometimes."

"Why? You have no reason to worry about my safety."

"I don't worry about your _safety_, Seth, I worry about your _sanity._"

"Sanitation? You worry about me being clean?"

"No, Seth, I worry about you being mentally healthy," Kendra said.

His eyes widened a bit. "Whaa?"

A door opened and the satyrs, followed by Warren, walked into the room. "We just saw the weirdest commercial," Doren said.

"About children," Newel continued.

"Missing and exploding children!" Doren finished.

"Missing and exploding children," Bracken repeated.

"Yeah, and why would someone do a dollar with Daisy?" Newel asked.

Doren nodded. "We also saw a sign in the movie we were watching. It said 'Teach Hippies.' Honest."

"Missing and _exploited _children, do you think it might've said?" Kendra asked.

"No, I think it's missing and exploding, 'cause that makes more sense," Newel stated.

"Okay, how on Earth does that make more sense? What child explodes? And how do missing children and exploding children have to do with each other at all?" Kendra exclaimed.

Seth, being the random child he was, suddenly broke into song.

_Teeeeaaaaaccchhhhh Hippies  
about doin' dollars with Daisy!  
And teeeellllllll parents  
that their children are gonna explode!_

The group stared at him. "What?" he asked. "It needed a tune."

Warren rubbed his jaw. "It is kind of catchy."

Newel and Doren began to hum the tune, while Bracken blushed a bit and said, "It really is pretty catchy."

Kendra rolled her eyes, recalling a time like this when Fablehaven was in much worse danger. "Boys are idiots, and I'm surrounded by them."

"What about us?" Newel and Doren asked.

Seth burst out laughing. "Are you calling yourselves _girls?_" he exclaimed, rolling around on the couch.

"No!" Newel shouted defensively. "We just aren't boys!"

"So you're ladies, then, if you're not girls?" Warren asked with a smirk.

"No, we're just… satyrs. Not male or female!" Doren said.

Kendra eyed them warily. "So you're like… half-genders?"

"Where are you getting all this? No, we're male!"

"But you just said—"

"SHUT YOUR FACE."

Kendra stood, arms akimbo. "Ex_cuse_ me? Is that any way to talk to a girl? I thought you were raised from better times, when guys actually _cared_ about a girl's well-being!"

"Well…" Newel began. "We were… and we do… I mean… you're the caretaker's daughter… and an Eternal…"

"Hush, I'm done talking to you. I'm going to talk to Jasmine, who actually cares a little bit about feelings," Kendra harrumphed, strutting past the satyrs and Warren and out the door.

"Well then." The satyrs' eyes were wide. "I think we should go." They left the house.

Warren, Seth, and Bracken sat awkwardly in the living room. Warren drifted into the kitchen, leaving Bracken and Seth. Seth grabbed Bracken's arm, tightly, and dragged him onto the back porch.

"Look, Bracken, if you talk to my sister the way the satyrs just did…" he let his unfinished threat hover in the air between them. Bracken stared down at Seth coolly.

"Seth, you know me. I won't let your sister's heart get hurt. I promise," he said seriously, his silver eyes meeting Seth's **{Making up a color for his eyes, here!} **brown ones.

Seth crossed his arms. "Okay. Glad we had this talk."

"So am I," said Bracken, grinning at Seth before slipping out the door to Kendra.

Seth began to mumble to himself. "I honestly don't find it fair that Kendra gets an immortal boyfriend and I don't get a girlfriend at all. I'm old enough, I deserve one." He began to imitate Kendra in a high-pitched voice. "_Oh, I'm so special! I have a unicorn boyfriend! I get to eat dinn-dinn with the Queen of Fairies! Tee hee! Seth doesn't get anyone, he can just go _die in a hole!"

"I didn't know you felt that way, Seth," Warren said from behind him. "There are other Eternals your age, you know."

Seth flushed a furious crimson. "Uh, I was practicing for a play I'm making."

"You suck at lying, Seth, ever since the Demon Prison. Honestly!" He laughed at his not-so-funny joke. "But seriously, what play has a girl with a unicorn boyfriend and gets to eat dinn-dinn with the Queen of Fairies?"

"It's a play based off our lives," he mumbled, sulking and sliding past Warren and back into the house. He ignored Warren's fun teases and tromped up the stairs to the attic. Once there, he stared at the toys and all the childish things, before muttering, "This place needs a makeover."


	9. Alone

Alone

Kendra was painting.

That's all that was on Bracken's mind as he somehow managed to trudge gracefully through the undergrowth. She was painting, and he wasn't allowed to be there to talk to her or just sit in the background, observing her elegant and fluid strokes. He wasn't even allowed to see it or sit outside the door.

For the first time since Seth was thrown into the dungeon at the Living Mirage, Bracken was lonely. He didn't know how to fix it. He could hang out with Seth, sure, or Warren or someone else, but it wouldn't be the same as being with Kendra. Something about her presence made all chances at possibly being lonely with her in the room fade. But now that he was so far from her (in his eyes), the loneliness crept in on him and swallowed him whole, like Olloch the Glutton would swallow his feeder. Bracken's thoughts were jumbled, switching from the forest around him to thoughts of _Where is everyone? Will I be alone forever?_

To be honest, he had never felt so alone in his entire life, and he lived a long time. In prison, he always had someone to talk to, even if he didn't like them, or something to do to keep his mind off the absence of people, but he had been anti-social then. Now he was a little social butterfly, flitting amongst the most beautiful and amazing flowers, and it was completely different.

A somewhat-large shadow flashed past him. Bracken looked up to see a small silver dragon, diving toward him. He raced ahead to a clearing he saw so it would be easier for Raxtus to land. When he did, Bracken smiled ruefully at the dragon.

"Hello, Raxtus. It's an agony that Kendra isn't here to see you… Did I say agony? I meant tragedy—er, manatee—um, cavity?" Bracken sighed and gave up. "She chased me off."

"Profanity, maybe?" Raxtus suggested. "She was bound to do it sometime soon. You're stuck to her like adhesive."

"Excuse me?" Bracken asked, taken aback.

"You know, glue. Adhesive. Learned that one from following a nice-looking horse owned by a professor!" Raxtus raised his kind of-mighty head triumphantly. "And you didn't know what I meant!"

"It's not a common phrase," Bracken muttered, ducking his head.

"Ooh, is somebody _lonely?_" Raxtus cooed, dipping his head to look Bracken in the eye. "Look, Unicorn Buddy, you're awesome. Go hang with some fairies. They love ya. I promise! Or… go hang out with your sisters!"

Bracken gazed at the dragon incredulously. "Hang with them? Are you serious?"

If dragons could blush, Raxtus did. "I like your sisters."

"Do you now," Bracken said, crossing his arms.

"Yes, I do. They're… amusing."

"Amusing how?"

"In… ways…"

"Ways, huh? Okay then, I'll go and hang out with my sisters if you leave me alone. Deal?"

Raxtus backed up, making a movement with his head that seemed much too girly for his dragon-ness. "Oh, okay, I see how it is. I get it. You want me gone. You're not going to hang out with your sisters at all—"

"—How'd you guess?"

"—You're just trying to chase me away, well, it won't work!"

Braken smiled slyly. "Will it work if I promise to tell them that you have a crush on them?"

Raxtus seemed to pale. "You wouldn't."

"I would."

Raxtus turned, becoming invisible. "Okay, dragon is _out._"

Bracken could tell by the _whoosh_ of air that Raxtus had taken off, and that lonely feeling filled his chest once more. He began to wander the preserve again, leaping onto rocks and doing tricks off them for no apparent reason but to keep his muscles occupied. Hours later, he drifted back to the yard to see Kendra, beautiful as ever, sitting on the porch waiting for him. When she saw him, she jumped up and hugged him, saying, "Where've you been? I've been waiting for the past hour!"

He pulled back. "You have?"

"I have. I got soo bored!"

"I missed you."

"You didn't see me for less than six hours, how could you possibly miss me?"

"I was lonely. My only company was a lovestruck dragon."

"Lovestruck? Raxtus is lovestruck?" Kendra questioned, tilting her head.

"With my sisters. He'll get over it when he figures out what bundles of heck they are," he said, tapping her nose with his finger. She smiled up at him; she was almost four inches shorter.

"I wouldn't know. I've met them once," she admitted, beginning her walk to the house. He followed, excited to see her painting as she led him up the stairs.

"Ready?" Kendra asked, her hand on the doorknob. Bracken nodded, gesturing for her to open the door and show him the extraordinary.

"If you say so," she said, pushing the door open and leading him in.

He gasped.

The painting in the center of the room was one of beauty and despair, darkness and light. There were two people sitting in a dark place, with a black ocean in the background. They seemed to be sitting on the side of a boat. The girl was almost sitting on the boy's lap shyly, huddled against his side in the cold. He had his arm around her, clutching her hand. The entire background was dark, but the couple was light and warm against the sharp black and chilly colors around them. The boy had silver eyes that were focused on the girl and shaggy silver hair, while the girl had timid green eyes and long, straight brown hair. He was well muscled, and she was dainty.

Kendra had painted the two of them on the way to what they thought was their doom on the _Lady Luck_.

Kendra blushed at Bracken's entranced stare. "Bracken, you don't have to pretend you like it."

"Kendra, I love it. It's better than any of the others. It's lovely," Bracken said, turning to face her. "But next time, can't you just make me face the corner with a blindfold? I don't want to be alone like that ever again."


	10. Hide and Seek

**A/N= I know, two chapters in one night, but this one is short. Even Seth and Kendra were young at one point. This is a true story, I just made it into Fablehaven form.**

Hide-and-Seek

Seth and his father were going to play Hide-and-Seek. Scott knew he wouldn't need to try all that hard to find his four-year-old son, but he smiled, stood in the corner, and counted to 100, like Seth had told him to do. He had heard his tiny footsteps patter away, and he smiled again. When he finally called, "Ready or not, here I come!" he was absolutely beaming. He looked around in the easy places that normal four-year-olds would hide, like behind the couch or under a bed.

Seth wasn't there.

Scott's smile faded. He continued to look for his young son in more hard-to-reach places on the downstairs floor before moving upstairs, his pace becoming rushed.

Seth wasn't in the house.

Scott raced outside and checked the yard, calling, "Seth? Seth! Come out! The game is over!" Seth didn't emerge. Scott checked the neighbors' houses and yards, asking them all, "Have you seen my son?" with worry plain as day in his voice. The neighbors all said close to the same thing.

"He's gone?"

Scott wouldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. This was his son, for crying out loud! How hard could it be? Maybe he just… forgot a closet inside. No, he had checked everywhere. Seth was nowhere to be found.

Scott was very, very scared now. Seth couldn't just be gone, could he?

Someone might've stolen him, Scott thought grimly. Or killed him, at worst.

And then, he ran across the street where Seth was afraid to go. He climbed the ladder to their abandoned, out-of-use tree house and saw Seth, fiddling with a twig in the corner. Scott wrapped his arms around his son, murmuring, "Were you ever worried I wouldn't come?"

Seth smiled up at his father. "No, Daddy, I knew you'd come. You always find me."


	11. A Sleepless Night

A Sleepless Night

"I can't sleep. I won't sleep."

These words were the ones Kendra spoke to Bracken the night she had a nap-mare, as Seth called it. Kendra had been napping peacefully on the lush, fresh grass in the lawn when she had a horrid dream. No one knew what it was, of course, not even Bracken. She wouldn't tell anyone.

"Kendra, you need sleep," Bracken tried to convince her.

She just crossed her arms. "No. I don't need sleep every night!"

"You should get sleep."

Kendra just shook her head, holding back a yawn.

Bracken sighed. Eleven at night, he was about to go home. Standing on the porch, back to the yard, leaning on the railing, and staring at the house. Suddenly, the door had burst open and there stood Kendra, in her blue-and-green polka-dotted pajama pants and a braless black cami, her jaw set and her eyes gleaming in the full-moon light. Bracken had never seen her in her pajamas, and he secretly wondered what others she had before shaking off the thought and calling himself a minor perv.

So there they stood, staring at each other in the light of the starry sky. Kendra and Bracken had never seen each other after ten o'clock, when people began to become tired and dreary and less lively. Normally, Bracken would be gone by this time, but some random thought inclined him to stay.

"Sleep, Kendra. That was one dream. A dream, nothing more. How do you know that it'll happen again? Just sleep, please. For me?" Bracken pleaded subtly. Usually, this last 'for me' would make her break and she'd smile and agree, but she was strong-willed while she was tired. She met his eyes, asking the question Bracken didn't entirely expect.

"Help keep me awake, will you?"

Bracken generally had no trouble in blocking the mildly perverted thoughts that floated through his head every now and again while he was with Kendra, but she was, more often than not, in day clothes. And a bra. Especially a bra. Now, though, Bracken allowed his eyes to slip over her lightly clothed form quickly. She looked very… attractive.

"Well? Will you? Or are you tongue-tied just because your girlfriend isn't in a bra or a regular shirt? I've seen you shirtless and _I_ didn't say anything." Kendra now stood with her hands on her hips; a defiant stance that said _I do what I want. Go ahead, stop me. I dare you._

"Uh… yeah. Can we stay out here? The night air might help you stay awake," Bracken suggested hopefully. What would Stan or Ruth do if he were inside with their granddaughter this late, walking into the bedroom?

"Sissy," Kendra muttered under her breath. "Sure, okay," she agreed louder.

"Okay then. Let's just go over here," said Bracken, leading her over to a bench in the garden, relieved. Thank God, no Stan-wrath. He had gotten a bit of it when he kissed Kendra while she was coming out of the shower on accident. They had bumped into each other, but that's nothing like what Stan had believed. Bracken only remembered the words 'I'll kill you next time', 'touching my granddaughter in those places', and 'I'll make sure you—' Bracken didn't even want to recall the last few words of that sentence.

He sat down on the marble bench, the white stone glowing against the dark green grass behind it. The tired but fiery girl sat next to him, almost leaning on his shoulder, but she still seemed a bit annoyed by the last small conversation they had shared, so she wasn't leaning against him or sitting sideways on the bench with her knees in his lap like she sometimes did when they were alone. Her eyes were half closed, but Bracken just smiled without trying to wake her up.

"Sorry, Bracken. I didn't mean to snap at you if I did," Kendra whispered drowsily. "But you promised you'd help me stay awake."

"Okay, I will. What do you want to talk about?"

…

The two talked all night about anything and everything, and everything was going fine until the sun came up.

"OMIGOD! The sun! I haven't seen the sun in _ages and eons and all that crap_!" Kendra exclaimed.

Bracken grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Kendra. Please tell me we didn't talk you insane."

She laughed. "Nuh-uh! I'm just happy to be alive! Last night I thought it'd be like in that _Nightmare on Elm Street_ movie! You know, with the creepy song the little girl or whoever sings? That little '_One, two, Freddy's comin' for you'_ song. And then I got scared and thought I was gonna _DIE._" She giggled again, her shoulders coming up to her ears as she pushed her head down and laughed.

Bracken began to wonder where the nearest mental hospital was.

She spun on her heel and raced further into the blooming garden with Bracken following; he didn't want her to get herself hurt in her lack-of-sleep high. He recalled other girls in the prison getting these, but Kendra had space to roam and 'be free'.

"Ah, ha-ha! It's SPRING! SPRING HAS SPRUNG! IT'S A GLORIOUS DAY!" Kendra shouted.

Bracken wondered what time it was.

"I bet she gets super busy in the spring," Kendra said, her voice now almost in a whisper.

"Who?" Bracken asked; he was a bit scared to hear the response.

"Mother Nature, silly! Who else? I mean, no one else can make it get light every day, can they?" Her face was alight with a huge smile now.

She has, Bracken thought, forgotten about my mother. This is a strange morning.

"Right," Bracken said cheerfully. "Now, let's get you into bed."

Her smile vanished immediately; her eyes turned very cold and very hard. "You're working for them, aren't you? The evil demons that killed you all and made me alone? You're one of them, I bet!"

"What? No, no, no, Kendra. I'm just trying to help," Bracken attempted. He believed that this was her dream.

"No! No, you won't help me!" Kendra cried. She gracefully fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands. "Those were the words that killed them all. One by one, the words killed them. First Bracken. Then Seth. Then Grandpa, Grandma, Vanessa, Tanu. Mom, Dad, Grandpa Larson, Grandma Larson. Everyone died. They were killed by one word each." Her voice was less than a whisper.

"Promise me," she said. "Promise me you won't die like you did in the dream."

"I—"

"_Promise me!_" she cried. The tears that had been clinging to her frail dark lashes let go, slipping down her cheeks in misty streaks. "Promise me you won't die. Don't die like they did. Don't die."

Bracken slid down beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "I can't make that promise, Kendra, if I don't know how I died."

She closed her eyes, but tears continued their races down to her chin. "The man. He smiled, and you appeared. He said 'what' and your eyes rolled back in your head, your face drained of color, and your head dangled on your neck as if you were hanging on a noose. Then you collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap." She met Bracken's eyes. "And then you came back. You stood, but your eyes were still back and your face was still pale. I called to you, but you just smirked at me. You said, 'now you'll be alone forever, like I was. Why didn't you come before? Why?' and you just walked away. You… you had killed me with those words, and those words only. They weren't like those words that the man had spoken. They were the kind that ate me out from the inside and left me crying in the darkness. It hurt. Not just in my mind. Not just in my imagination. It was a soul hurt. A real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I became an empty shell of what used to be.

"Promise me," she said again. "Promise me you won't die like that."

Bracken tightened his arms around her shoulders. "I promise. No matter what."

**Sorry you guys. My parents were fighting when I wrote this. I always get my feelings out through this, nothing else, so just bear with me. It was supposed to be kinda funny-ish before she got all 'promise me!' and stuff. Sorry. Honestly, I am. I cried as I wrote this v.v but you guys are perfect, I promise.**


	12. A notasintimidating author's note

**Another Author's Note, just not as intimidating**

**Look, my peoples. I love you all, and I thank you all so much, and I'm sorry for the last chapter. It didn't boost your spirits or warm your hearts at all, did it? I'm sorry. I have a specific notebook for dramatic scenes like that. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry. And that yes, lack-of-sleep highs HAVE struck upon me from time to time. I just hope that you don't have highs like that one. I have. Anyways, I also want you to keep in mind that I will be posting a better, much more amusing chapter soon. **

**I hope.**

**No, no, kidding! I do hope it's amusing, but there's no doubt that it'll be up this week! I have lots of hopes, and I hope that you all know that you need to laugh as much as you can, that you need to share the memories, else they won't be memories, and learn from your mistakes, or they'll happen again. **

**Promise?**

**~Nicki =')**


	13. Happiness

Happiness

Today, Seth was happy. He was beaming and saying a very cheery "Good morning!" to everyone he saw. No one knew why. He was just being gleeful.

"Seth, are you okay?" Kendra asked as she watched Seth attempt to say hello to every fairy that passed.

"Ah, I'm… I'm brilliant!" he shouted, ignoring the fairies' annoyed glares. "It's so amazing, you know? Just… amazing!"

"Why is it so amazing?" Kendra asked him, bemused.

"Well…" Seth's grin vanished to be replaced by a confused look. "I don't know. I just feel happy. It's a happy day."

"Why?"

Seth stared at Kendra. "I don't know. When I figure it out, I'll get back to you."

Kendra just smiled and walked toward the woods. "I'll be at the pond."

Seth, contemplating her questions, flopped onto the grass. Why? What makes this day so much better than the others?

_Nothing, really, _he thought, _I'm just recognizing the happiness now, and I hadn't before._

So maybe that's it. He's realizing the happiness in identifying those things. No, it's not. So what could it be? Seth stares up at the puffy white clouds drifting cheerily across the vibrant sky. So why? What was the reason for his endless happiness? Seth stood, walking up the white wooden stairs to the house. He steps inside and finds a pencil and some paper and begins to think of some reasons to be happy. A great list begins and his pencil dances across the blank white paper, forming the words almost as quickly as they race into his head.

_I've got great friends_

_I'm different_

_I can have an influence on the world_

_I can feel emotions_

_I've accomplished great things_

_Life is beautiful_

_The weather is amazing_

_I can listen_

_I can speak for myself_

_I can enjoy the sun_

_I can try something new whenever I want to_

_I always have the opportunity to do a random act of kindness_

_I can find the love of my life_

_I can arrange a surprise party!_

_I can flatter myself_

_I can enjoy my own time_

_I can fix something_

_I'm able to laugh_

_I'm me_

_I can take a risk_

_I can remember_

_I can dream_

_I'm gifted_

_I have a passion in life_

_I have time_

_I can make my own choices_

_I'm lucky_

_I'm healthy_

_I'm a strong person_

_I can look better today if I want to_

_I have a purpose_

_I have a home_

_I can believe_

_I can see_

_I can taste_

_I can smell_

_I can feel things_

_I can say 'thanks' to people_

_My age is perfect_

_I can dance_

_I can hug someone_

_I can stop worrying and have fun_

_I can play_

_I can sleep_

_I can distract myself_

_I can get an inspiration_

Seth blinked and sat back. This was a long list. Seth couldn't think of anything else until he gasped and grinned and wrote it down in big, capital letters at the bottom of the paper. He raced outside, the paper flapping around in his grip. Kendra wasn't there, but that was to be assumed. She did say, after all, that she would be at the pond. Seth tore through the forest with a huge, broad smile. Kendra should love these reasons, and then she'd be happy, too, because she'll see why she should also be happy! Then Bracken would be happy, and the Fairy Queen, and her daughters, and everyone in their kingdom, then the people who know about that kingdom, and then everyone will be happy! Just because of him! There's another great reason!

"Kendra! Kendra, I got some reasons!" Seth panted as he sprinted into the grove. Kendra looked up from the flowers.

"Hi, Seth. Let me see." She grabbed the list and read through it, and then she gestured to Bracken, who was across the grass. He read it, too, and he grinned. He said, "That's a great reason."

Now they're happy, too! Seth thought. Great!

He stared with a huge smile at the letters scrawled across the bottom of the paper.

_**I AM ALIVE**_

…

**A/N= Guys, I want you all to be happy, 'kay? Make the most of life. You can change the world. You are already complete. Every day is another chance to change your life, and you can be who you want to be RIGHT NOW. Happiness comes from your own actions, no one else's. Never give up! Don't go around saying or thinking, "My life sucks. I should run away. I should kill myself," because that's not what you were here to do! Think: Maybe I'm not having a good day, so what? I could win the Nobel Prize one day! I could bring world peace! I could put an end to illiterate kids! **

**Today is a miracle, people, if you make it one.**

**~Nicki ;)**


	14. Outings

**Outings**

"All right, everyone! Are we all ready?" Vanessa called. She, Seth, Kendra, Tanu, Warren, and Bracken were all going to the mall, only to get more clothing. The worst part was: the nearest mall was three hours away. They'd all have to pile into the small bus that Tanu had rented, one of the buses that transported people from airports to small hotels, and attempt not to kill each other in annoyance.

"Seth, you'd better not bring your harmonica, or I'll go insane," Kendra growled.

"More insane than you are already?" Seth asked innocently, hiding something behind his back. From behind him, Tanu grabbed the object from Seth's grasp. He held it up. It was a small pouch.

"A kazoo, a slinky, a slide whistle, a whistle, a Barbie doll, a dozen air fresheners… what is all this?" Tanu asked, pawing through everything.

"Nothing," Seth said, snatching it back and clipping it to the belt loop of his jeans. The others examined him suspiciously before the older adults came out to say, "Have a nice trip," which seemed to be code for, "Okay, leave, now."

The six all crowded into the bus. There were three rows of two, not including the single seat where the driver would sit. Seth sat next to Warren, the most tolerant and enjoyable of the bunch (in his eyes), and grinned at him. Kendra and Bracken sat in the very back row together, Vanessa sat in the middle row with the empty seat, and Tanu drove. They drove down the driveway, Dale opened the gate for them, and then they were on their way.

"Hey Tanu…" Seth began after ten minutes of only whispering, "Are we there yet?"

Everyone groaned. "No, Seth, it takes…" Tanu checked the MapQuest page he had printed, "three hours and twenty-three minutes to get there, and it's only been ten. Now, get out your Barbie doll and have a blast."

Seth complied, but he opened the sunroof. He shoved Barbie through it and made her dance, laughing. The other four passengers stared at him, but Warren was laughing, and the only thing keeping Bracken from doing the same was Kendra's eye-roll and her muttered, "Boys." After a little while, Seth became bored, and he put Barbie back. He seized the packet of directions and waited for Tanu to ask which way to turn. When he did, Seth giggled and said, "Me-turn!" to say, "Right turn!" Tanu didn't understand right away, and by the time the light was green and people were honking, Seth was guffawing. Bracken called, "Right turn, Tanu!" from the back, understanding Seth. Tanu turned but was rewarded with very rude gestures from other drivers.

Vanessa grabbed the packet from Seth and gave it back to Tanu, who accepted it gratefully. Nothing happened for the next few moments, but suddenly Seth screeched, "BRAKE!" Tanu slammed his foot down, jolting everyone forward. Kendra gasped and exclaimed a quick, "AH!" for obvious reasons that have to do with her seatbelt being across her chest. Tanu glared at Seth, who craned his neck to see farther out the window.

"Okay, you can go now. That squirrel lives on the edge, man!" Seth breathed. Tanu kept driving, glancing at Seth in the rearview mirror every now and again. When Vanessa leaned over to whisper something in his ear, Seth was silent. He didn't perform any more stunts like that.

In the next hour, Kendra and Bracken discussed a few things about his world, Vanessa and Warren got into a very 'important' argument about which meat was better: chicken, beef, lamb, or duck. Seth played with his slinky.

"Okay, so you think chicken," Warren said. "What kind of meat: dark meat or white meat?"

"Isn't that kind of racist?" Kendra butted in. "I mean, you can hardly taste the difference."

"Well, I can see what you're talking about, but I think they say that for the chefs," Tanu called back.

"Huh." Kendra shrugged and began to talk to Bracken again.

And then, suddenly…

"Are we _there_ yet?" Seth whined.

"Oh no…" moaned every person in the back of the mini bus.

"No, Seth," Tanu muttered.

Seth waited a few moments before calling again, "Are we there _now?_"

Tanu sighed. "NO, Seth, we are NOT there yet."

Another few minutes later: "How about now?"

"Do _not_ make me pull over and come back there," Tanu threatened.

"Sorry, sorry."

Bracken had his arm around Kendra's shoulders. Vanessa was leaning forward and talking to Warren again. They were discussing the matters of politics… from four years ago.

"I heard," Vanessa said, "That people are almost convinced—"

"WE'RE HERE!" called Tanu, parking in the closest spot to the mall he could find. Everyone cheered, climbing awkwardly out of the car.

They were all talking at once, happy to be out of the bus.

And they still needed to drive home.


	15. Navarog

**A/N= I got this one comment that said something like 'I wonder what would happen if Gavin came back?' Maybe that was for a different story… but, anyway, here we go.**

Navarog

Kendra stood with her eyes closed in the middle of a field. It was a very bland field, with regular green grass up to her ankles and no flowers of any kind. Just the stupid little weed we call grass that old people fuss over. If she opened her eyes, she wouldn't be able to see any trees on any side of her. Just grass.

Kendra opened her eyes. She saw grass and a man. He looks the same as a young boy that she met during the shadow plague. Kendra stared at this man with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here, Navarog?" she hissed. Her eyes don't water, for she was finished thinking of his betrayal. She now had Bracken, and every girl who thinks the same as Kendra knows that unicorns are better than dragons. Dragons are burly, monstrous, klutzy creatures and, compared to the lithe, kind, graceful unicorns, they suck.

He chuckles. "I'm here to see you, of course, Kendra."

Kendra scowls. "You're a jerk. Seriously, what's so good about being a demonic dragon man? So you can get the name Mr. Demonic Dragon Man?" In her mind, Kendra winced. She sounded too much like Seth to be natural.

Navarog scowled even more than Kendra, so much that one might believe that he had practice. "Please be rational, Kendra. You know that I'm telling the truth."

"I never said I didn't think you were telling the truth." This here, this is called bravery. And cockiness. And boldness. Which one sounded best?

"Kendra…"

"That happens to be my name. You're wearing it out. It's becoming annoying. How would you like it if I said your name every sentence, Navarog?"

Navarog rolled his eyes. "You've really changed, Kendra. You used to be shyer."

"Your point being?"

He sighed. "You're becoming difficult. If you don't mind, I'd like some respect."

Kendra sighed, too, mocking him. "I do mind, so don't expect any."

His eyes widened. "What on Earth are you talking about? Why wouldn't you respect me, a demon dragon? What's not to be feared?"

"As far as I know, fear and respect aren't the same thing."

"Respect is fear!" he shouted.

"Are you sane?"

Navarog blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Are you mentally healthy?" Kendra questioned. "If you're not, I can understand. Being eaten by a runty dragon probably isn't a self-esteem booster. It would drive me insane."

"What?" Navarog asked. He was confused by all of Kendra's peculiar questions. No one had ever asked if he was sane before. How was one to answer?

"But you might not know. I mean, if you think about it, you would be thinking the same way you've been thinking, so you'd think you were stable even when everyone else knows that you're not," Kendra remarked.

Navarog opened his mouth, but he was so bewildered, so discombobulated, he couldn't say anything. His eyes blinked quickly. "Wh- I-I-I… What are you- what is this?"

Kendra shrugged. "I'm sorry if I've confused you. I didn't mean to. I understand what I said. I bet my unicorn would."

"What?"

"Is that all you can say? Seriously, this is driving me insane. Well, not as insane as I would if I'd been swallowed by a dragon less than half my size," Kendra reasoned. "I suppose that would literally drive me mad. You'd be able to sense my madness from miles away."

"What are you talking about?"

Kendra sighed. "I wish I had a sword." She glanced at his hip. "I see you have one. Can I borrow it?"

He pulled it out and began to hand it to her before he began to slice it across her. Before he could, though, she smacked his neck and the sword skittered out of his hand and onto a random rock. Kendra snatched it and stared down at Navarog.

Navarog changed into a dragon and breathed fire into the air. He snarled and growled at Kendra. She gazed up at him with calm eyes. Navarog seemed to sneer as he said, "Dearest Kendra, I don't like being confused. You're the only one who's ever confused me, so I'll just kill you so you won't confuse me again." He opened his large mouth and prepared to breath fire on the girl, but Kendra glanced into his mouth, glanced at the sword, and sliced it across his tongue.

"Baaaahhhhhhhh!" Navarog exclaimed, shoving his bleeding tongue out of his mouth. "I' 'a'e' ba'! 'O ba'!" If he didn't have his tongue cut, he would've said, "It tastes bad! So bad!" Because, apart from vampires, what idiot likes the taste of blood? Oh, and apart from Edward Cullen. Everyone knows he's a fairy.

"What?" Kendra asked. She didn't know what he said.

"Ba' 'a'e! I'y!" A.K.A "Bad taste! Icky!"

"Huh. I suppose I've weakened Mr. Demonic Dragon Man," Kendra mused. "Should I kill him?"

"'O! 'O! P'ea'e, 'o!" Navarog shouted. Kendra had sliced a line from the very back of his tongue to the very tippity-tip. What he meant to say was, "No! No! Please, no!"

"Is that a no?" Kendra asked. "Because I know a lot of people who'd be in the audience, egging me on."

Navarog gave up talking. Why would Kendra kill him? Sure, he betrayed her, but who cares? What's the point in going undercover if you don't pretend to fall in love and then betray the girl?

"Come on," Kendra said, "It's not as if it'll hurt as badly as you hurt me that long ago."

Navarog had no idea what Kendra had felt. He had gotten a bit fond of Kendra, but never loved her or _liked_ her, liked her.

Kendra stepped up to the dragon and stabbed the dragon's heart, but the sword rattled and slid off his tough scales. Navarog would've laughed as he began furious swipes at Kendra. She continued to dance away and taunt him.

And then Kendra woke up.


	16. Protection

**A/N= My goodness, BlueMoonsKitten, I LOVE YOUR GUTS. I love everyone, but I LOVE YOUR GUTS MOST OF ALL! YOU'VE SAVED ME. YOU'VE EFFING SAVED ME. EVERYONE THANK HER! OR, IF BLUEMOONSKITTEN IS A HIM IN DISGUISE, THANK HIM! Let's just say it. THANK IT.**

**Disclaimer: everyone needs one. I've got meh own story. Book. I'm on page 127. You're jealous. BACK TO DISCLAIMER. Naw, I don't want a bestselling series. I'm good with selling stories for donations, thank you berry much, BRANDON MULL. Have fun being famous among readers everywhere.**

Protection

Kendra tripped. Into the pond.

"Oh, no!" she kicked her way up, but not before the naiads' steel-strong grips gave her bruises along her legs and arms and a few on her sides. They almost looked like slap marks, she noticed. Or maybe marks from a leather glove. Kendra, dripping wet, giggled a bit as she held up the side of her now soaking shirt.

"Kendra! Are you all right?" Seth called from the edge of the clearing.

"Oh, I'm fine, I just fell in the pond!" Kendra said. Seth, who had been mumbling to himself, didn't hear her.

"Who would've done this? Why would someone do this to her?" His face lit up in the original '_Eureka!'_ expression. "Bracken! She must've made Bracken mad… Ooh, when I see him, I'll—"

"Seth! I just tripped some of the bracken by the side of the pond and—" Kendra began, but realized her mistake when her brother's face hardened. "No, Seth…"

"I'M GONNA GET HIM!" Seth shouted. He raced out of the clearing.

Kendra bent her head in ashamed astonishment. How could she have such a stupid brother? And how on earth did that boy convince himself that Bracken was the cause of these bruises? She could've sworn on her own fake grave that Seth and Bracken could've announced their engagement and no one would mind! How did Bracken turn into the villain in this unlikely predicament?

Kendra figured out almost an instant after that thought flashed through her mind.

"Every brother wants a reason to hate his sister's boyfriend, right? So they can be all 'protect the sister, she's vulnerable!' and all that? At least, Seth would…"

Kendra sighed and followed Seth out of the clearing. The moment she was looking at her new bruises, Seth walks in and sees. Just her luck.

"Seth, come on, I tripped!" Kendra yelled.

"Kendra? Oh, hey, Kendra!" Bracken ran over to her. They kissed quickly, but Kendra looked at him, quite seriously serious, and said, "Run. Seth is coming."

Bracken laughed. "Why would I run from Seth?"

"Because he's convinced you abused me. He's convinced you gave me these bruises—" Kendra pointed them out. "—which I got them from naiads after I tripped and fell in the pond, by the way."

"Wow." Bracken's eyes were wide. "You got away from naiads? Who hate you? WOW!"

"Go, go, go!" Kendra ushered Bracken away. "Go see your mother for a while! Go take a ride with Raxtus! Just _GO!_"

Bracken and Kendra argued. Go! No, I'll stay. All that. Let's just skip this boyfriend-girlfriend, lovey-dovey, 'it's for your own good' arguing and go right to the part where Seth finds them.

…

_There._ Bracken. Arguing with _HIS SISTER. _Seth scowled at his former-friend-now-enemy. The abuser of Kendra. It looked like Bracken had slapped her or hit her with a leather glove! Who would do such a thing?

"RrrAAAGGGHHH!" Seth leaped out and slashed at Bracken with the sword he had 'borrowed' (We'll save this story for later) from Warren. Bracken danced back with a smirk; Kendra froze with eyes as big as moons as Seth slid in front of her. "You disgust me!" Seth spat.

"Do I now? Why is that?" Bracken asked, still smirking.

"You know just the reason! You hurt Kendra! I'll make you pay, Pony Boy!" Seth growled. Bracken, in the mood for some fun and games, withdrew his horn.

"'Kay. Make me pay, little shadow man," Bracken said. Kendra gasped. She knew Bracken wouldn't try (he did, after all, have hundreds of years of experience), but she was still worried. If he didn't try, Bracken might lose. Seth was out of control and angry and determined to protect her.

"Bracken, seriously… SETH! JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Kendra shouted.

"Did he leave you alone? NO! I'm not letting this get by without a fight!" Seth hissed.

"You want a fight? You came to the right place." At this, Bracken and Seth began to fight. Seth was almost as good as Bracken, but his smile didn't fade. He seemed quite amused as he parried and swiped and blocked and flicked and poked and prodded. But, sooner than Kendra would've thought, Seth caught Bracken. His sword slipped over Bracken's shoulder, slicing it open cleanly. Kendra gasped. Bracken blinked. Seth almost dropped his sword. His face had an 'I actually did it…' expression, but it quickly morphed back into twisted rage. He began to strike again, but Kendra leaped in front of him.

"Seth, stop it." Her eyes seemed to glow with determination, but also sadness. "How could you possibly think that Bracken would hurt me?"

"I…" Seth trailed off, an astounded look on his face. "Um… huh. Pass?"

Kendra shook her head and grabbed Bracken's hand. "Come on. Let's just go hang out with your sisters."

Bracken shook his head and asked Seth, "Why didn't you just listen to Kendra's story in the first place?"

"Because I'm an impatient young child," Seth said.

Kendra giggled. "I tripped on the edge of the pond and fell in. The naiads grabbed me, but I got away. They have really, really strong hands, see? That's what made these! Not abuse from Bracken. If anyone were to abuse me, it wouldn't be Bracken. You two would be the ones to beat up the idiot who had the nerve to do such a thing."

Seth blinked. Bracken blinked. Kendra smiled.

"Wow," Seth said. "I… WOW."

"Now, let's get back. I have a question to ask Warren about."

"What, about something Fablehaven or something about what guys have?" Bracken asked.

"None of your business, sweetie. Just go chill with the Queen of Fairies." Kendra began to walk toward the house. The boys scurried to catch up. Kendra noticed their scurrying and pointed it out.

"What? Noooo… that wasn't scurrying. We were scrambling in a hurry!" Seth said.

"The word 'scurry' is actually those two words combined. 'Scramble' and 'hurry'," Kendra said. Seth sighed and began to complain about how smart Kendra was and how she ruined the fun, but Bracken stepped in front of him and set a hand on his forehead and a hand on his jaw, holding his mouth closed.

"Say no more icky things about how amazing Kendra is. You're just jealous," Bracken said seriously.

Seth sighed again. "I can't believe I doubted you. Sorry."

"It's okay, I for—"

"BAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! OH MAN, THAT WAS HILARIOUS! I WANT TO WATCH THAT AGAIN! REWIND, REWIND!"

"RIGHT, NEWEL! I WOULD IF I COULD! BUT I CAN'T REWIND LIFE!"

"So dude... where did you put the rest of the popcorn again?"


	17. Nothing Special

**A/N= Hi guys. It's Nicki. I've returned from the deep dark depths of what we all call imagination. So anyways, I'm apparently taking requests now, so here I go. I'm warning you now, though, I haven't written a FanFic in like, months. Seriously. Honest to the Lord. Now, if you want to criticize me, go ahead, feel free, but don't do it out loud. Type it. If you say it out loud, that makes it true! . And who wants that?**

Nothing Special

"Warren!"

"What?"

"Where's Vanessa?"

"I don't have a clue," Warren answered.

"Aw, come on, you broke the _W_ chain!" Seth moaned. "Anyway, you guys should really hang out more, now that you're going out, and all."

"We are not going out, Seth," he sighed, turning away from the growing boy and continuing his walk toward the stables. "You know that, Kendra knows that and Vanessa knows, too."

"I don't think so."

"Are you really pressuring me about dating when you've never had a girlfriend in the first place?"

Seth stuck up his nose. "At least I've kissed a girl!"

Warren rolled his eyes. "Okay. And I'm in my twenties; you think I haven't? I was in high school too."

Seth stopped. He seemed to be pondering the thought, or maybe even the image, of Warren in high school. A creepy picture of Warren with a weird smile on his face and a huge black afro wig popped into mind. Seth shook his head and blinked quickly and dashed forward to catch up to Warren. He grabbed his sleeve. "Warren. Go talk to Vanessa, at least. It's awkward. We all can see that. But seriously, it'd be more awkward if the Fairy Queen had said that, right? See what I'm getting at? Just say hi. That's all I'm asking. Maybe start a conversation. We can see you two haven't really talked, apart from those times when we all chill together. Just… hold her hand, or something."

"You know too much for your age, Seth."

"Well, if I'm going to be living until I'm murdered, I might as well learn a little."

Warren smiled and changed his direction, instead walking towards the pond. He knew Vanessa and Kendra liked to chat about God-is-the-only-one-who-wants-to-know-what by the pond. Sadly, Bracken joined them sometimes, which, in Warren's eyes, decreased his manliness. They probably talked about… boys. And tampons. And politics.

Warren shuddered.

He picked his way through the sudden undergrowth along the side of the hedge to the entrance. He could already hear the girls talking. He heard a splash; Vanessa laughed. He thought it was an awesome sound.

Not that he'd tell her that.

He all but tiptoed into the little grove area. Kendra was grinning. Vanessa was still shaking with laughter. Bracken stood in front of them, dripping, and was probably about to hug Kendra when he saw their visitor. "Oh, Warren!"

Kendra turned. Vanessa glanced behind her and her face lit up. "Hi!" she called.

He blinked, staring down at his feet. "Hi."

"She pushed me. You're related to her, ground her!" Bracken shouted, beaming a movie-star smile and pointing at Kendra.

"Yes, shame on me, shame on me. If I were grounded, though, I wouldn't be able to see you."

"Shoot. That's right."

Kendra giggled.

Warren and Vanessa were staring at each other. Warren considered it awkward, but Vanessa popped up and trotted over to him. "Why aren't you talking, is there something wrong?" she asked.

"No, nothing!" Warren gasped, "There's never anything wrong with you!" And then he clamped his mouth shut.

What had he done? What had he done, what had he done, what had he _done?_ He was about to apologize, about to make a quick exit, but Vanessa's smile halted him, sent a jolt down his spine. A good one.

"Ditto for you, sir," she answered.

"Bracken! Honestly, I thought you were better than this!" Kendra was laughing.

"I thought you liked hugs!"

Warren had never felt this weird in his life. What the heck? He'd kissed girls before, but… Well, Vanessa was different! She made him shiver without it being cold, made him smile without a joke, made him blush without saying a word.

Vanessa was standing close now.

Close enough for him to reach out his hand and grab hers… nope. Not happening. Sure, he'd held her hand before, but that was… before. When everyone was around. Nothing special could happen with everyone watching, right? Right.

At least, that's what he told himself. Lots of special things could (and would) happen with an audience. Kendra and Bracken had.

**OMIGOD! IT'S LIKE A PART 1 THING! HAHAAA! THIS IS SOOO COOL! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS! BUAHAHAHA! SEE YOU IN LIKE A DAY!**


	18. Nothing Special  Part Two

**A/N= Okay, this 'making you all wait' thing isn't working out for me. I can't stand it. I got three reviews, but that was enough to make me screech with joy and make my mama give me some funny looks and make my sister scream because she screams when I scream and it was awesome so here it issss!**

Nothing Special – Part Two

This mushy-lovey stuff totally wasn't Warren's forte.

There she was, his angel on Earth, and yet he could hardly even work up the nerve to talk to her, let alone hold her _hand. _What in the name of the Fairy Queen was he going to do? He couldn't possibly tell her. Telling her would be like taking a knife to his chest, slicing it open, and ripping out his ribs so he could get to his heart.

That wasn't an image Warren liked to think about.

"Look Warren, if you don't want to hang out with me, I understand," Vanessa sighed. "I mean, who wants to hang out with a narcoblix? I could turn on them like this." She snapped her fingers. "Sorry."

Warren was about to object, to tell her that no, he wanted to hang out with her for the rest of his life, and that he could never believe that she would turn on them, but the words were stuck. It was like that time he ate glue in sixth grade. The words were pinned on his taste buds. A soft sound drifted to him. He opened his mouth to free them, to give them the air and the voice they needed, but Vanessa was already walking away. What was that sound, anyway?

"Warren." Kendra had her hand on his shoulder. "You've gotta be quicker next time."

"Yeah, man. You made her cry. A _narcoblix._ That's tough. I would know…" Bracken rubbed his chin, remembering.

Warren was astounded. He'd made her _cry_? No! Impossible!

"She really does love you, Warren."

He turned. "She doesn't."

"She does." Bracken repeated Kendra's words.

Warren stared at the arch where she'd disappeared. Could he possibly catch up before she reached the yard? Maybe. But should he go after her? He'd as good as told her that he didn't like being with her. Which he did.

A lot.

And that's when Warren began to run.

He heard Kendra cheer. He practically saw Kendra and Bracken kissing (enthusiastically). But he didn't care. He just raced though the woods, not bothering with paths, not caring that he was most definitely going to get poison ivy on his ankles, not paying any attention whatsoever to anything except the strip of forest in front of him and behind her.

And that strip of forest was going to drive him insane if it wasn't getting smaller.

"Vanessa!" Warren called.

She was leaning against an oak, catching her breath. Her cheeks were red. There was a jewel-like drop of sweat on her temple. Her hair was wind-blown, framing her face with shimmering beauty. And there were tears, glistening in her eyes and on her lashes and resting atop her soft cheeks.

No matter how tired she looked, Warren thought she was gorgeous.

"Vanessa?" Warren whispered, walking forward.

"I thought you didn't want to see me," she panted.

Warren stood in front of her and lifted her chin with his finger. "I always, _always_, want to see you."

She turned her head; his hand fell back to his side. "No, you don't. I'm… I'm not like you. I'm just different. The blix. The one who isn't human."

"Stop it," Warren muttered. "Just stop. You are different, but you're a spectacular kind of different. You're a blix, yes, but you're a breathtaking kind of blix. And yes, you aren't human, but in my eyes, that doesn't matter. None of that matter except that you can take my breath just by walking towards me, that you can stun me just by looking at me. Every time you say something to me, it makes me want to just—" He realized what he was about to say and froze.

Vanessa was looking at him again. There was curiosity dancing in the depths of her eyes, those deep brown eyes he'd come to love so much…

"Just what, Warren?" she asked softly.

He stared down at her. "Just do this," he answered, and he kissed her.

He _kissed_ her.

And then she kissed him back.

And it was the greatest, most magnificent, most remarkable thing Warren had ever done in his life.

"Seth, nicely done, you brought the popcorn. You're a little late."

"Yeah yeah, just shut up and let me… oh, now look what you've done, Newel."

"I _told_ you, don't talk!"

"You guys are idiots."

"Right back at ya, Seth. Right back at ya."

**You **_**so**_** should've seen that coming.**


	19. A First Date

**A/N= I applaud you all! I've been rescued from the multiple worlds I call my other stories, and have come back to you to amuse you with the adventures of Fablehaven characters! But first, I'm going to warn you that the next chapter will be a comment chapter. I'll respond to comments that I haven't already. This is because it will be the 20****th**** chapter ****–does a little happy dance- and I will do this every 20****th**** chapter. Deal? Deal. Kay. Have fun.**

A First Date

Bracken was with his mother. She had asked to talk to him.

"Bracken, do you know why you're here?" she asked gently.

He sighed. "Look, Mother, you know I didn't _mean_ to make those gnomes so mad at me because I—"

She cut him off with a chuckle. "That is not it, my son. I called you here because yes, Kendra does come speak to me, and yes, I do know of the modern world now. I am not sure if you do, but let me tell you this: you and Kendra are, what the humans call, dating. Do you know the base of that word? Date."

"Mother…"

"Bracken. Listen to me. Walking though the woods, eating dinner with her family and ours, well, let us face it, it is not exactly what you would look back upon and call 'romantic,' is it?"

"No, Mother, but—"

"But nothing. You and Kendra have been about here," the Queen held her hand flat, about half a foot above her knee, "when it comes to romance." She leaned forward. "That's what you're supposed to do, Bracken. Kendra. Is. Bored." And then she shooed him away.

Bored? Kendra? She painted, all the time, in fact! She said she enjoyed doing that! And they didn't _only_ hang out with her family and his, right? Yeah, there was that time with—oh, wait. The satyrs and Seth were right around the corner playing tennis… and then there was that time when—oh, right. The hamadryads were oohing and ahhing at them that time. His mother was right, Kendra probably _was_ bored, and he was a 2 on a 1-10 romance scale. Maybe not even. He had to do something. Kendra might—Bracken shuddered—break up with him! How to solve this, how to solve this…

"Bracken! I was looking all over for you!"

"Raxtus?" Bracken squinted up at the small dragon. "Are you getting bigger?"

Raxtus seemed to grin. "No, but I think you're sinking!"

"Not again," he muttered, taking a long step from the pink-ish sink tile his sisters had put down. "Nice one guys! Really original, using one of my pieces!" he shouted, stalking past Raxtus and towards the pond.

"Is there something wrong?" Raxtus asked. "You seem a little tense."

"I'm not tense!" Bracken snapped. The dragon seemed to frown.

"Kendra wanted to see you. She said she was going to break—"

"Oh, no!" Bracken shouted. He leaped into the pond and emerged in Fablehaven, racing towards the house. He heard a splash and assumed Raxtus followed him.

"What's so bad about her breaking into hives if he didn't bring back her allergy medicine, I don't know." Raxtus muttered under his breath as he watched Bracken race away. He shook his head. "Unicorns." And he took off.

"Kendra!" Bracken yelled once in view of the house.

"Oh, hi!" she called back cheerfully. She grinned at the sight of him. "Did you accidently kick that—"

"No, no, I didn't do that again! Raxtus said you wanted to talk to me?" he asked, panting only slightly.

"Oh, yeah. Do you still have my allergy medicine? I think I might be breaking into hives…" Kendra examined her arms while Bracken sighed with relief.

"Kendra, do you want to go somewhere?" he asked.

She glanced up at him. "Sure. I suppose Grandma and Grandpa wouldn't mind if we took a little walk."

"No, I mean, away from Fablehaven."

Kendra's already glittering eyes lit up. "Really? Yeah, that'd be great! Of course, I've got to ask…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll be fine for just one night on our own, right?" Bracken grinned a bit cockily.

"Alright, if you say so!" Kendra said, hopping down from her sitting position on the top step. Bracken, wanting to help the Sorensons and also wanting to learn more about the modern world, had learned to drive, and was also attending an online college so he could learn about the modern society, so he and Kendra climbed into his Volvo and drove down the long, sign-decorated driveway to the gate, which Bracken got out, opened, told Kendra to drive though, and closed before getting back into the car.

Kendra was practically shaking with excitement. A real date with Bracken! Finally! Just eating with their families and walking around Fablehaven while monsters slept… not exactly romantic. Now, though, a real date!

"Where were you thinking about going?" she asked Bracken.

He froze, driving but not moving apart from the slight turns. "Ah…"

Kendra laughed. "Of course you don't have a clue! How about Olive Garden?"

"No, no, I've got this. There's this new restaurant down by Meijer…" Bracken trailed off, glancing at Kendra. She was beaming, her fingers were tapping on her thighs the most recent song she'd been learning to play on the piano a bit quicker than it should've been played. Bracken smiled slightly and relaxed a bit, reverting his gaze back to the road and, after a bit, onto the different shops and restaurant (and the other cars, of course). He saw the Olive Garden, but he wanted to go to the other Vietnamese place that he'd told her about that'd just opened up.

"Here we are," he said, parking perfectly. Kendra opened her door and popped out, much quicker than Bracken, who stepped out and locked the car and slipped the keys into his pocket.

"Ohh, this is going to be great, Bracken!" Kendra gasped. "See? That's where I want to work, but Grandma and Grandpa said I can't work until they get me a car of my own…" She pointed at a Borders. "There's a Seattle's Best in there. That's where I'd love to work."

Bracken smiled at her. He held the door open…

Kendra gasped.

The place reeked.

"Oh, oh, hello, hello, welcome, welcome!" a lady ushered them inside. Kendra seemed to be trying her best to smile, but she had a look on her face that said, _Really? Seriously? This is brilliant. _

"Sorry," Bracken whispered to her.

"Don't worry about it," Kendra breathed back. "It happens." She smiled at him.

He smiled back. Of course this is how their first real date turned out, of course! Bracken couldn't believe his bad luck. This wasn't what he wanted! She'd break up with him for sure! The waitress sat them down at an ugly blue booth with a weak wooden table. She handed them menus made of regular, cheaply laminated paper. When Kendra sat down, she gasped and jumped back up, moving to his side.

"What's wrong over there?" he asked softly.

Kendra shuddered.

Bracken sighed.

"Is there something you would like to drink, possibly, possibly?" the waitress asked.

"I'll have a Pepsi," Kendra said, thinking that there was no way they could mess up a pop.

"I will, too." Bracken smiled at the waitress as she scurried away.

"Look, I'm sorry," Bracken told Kendra, opening his menu. She opened hers as well.

"I'm just going to have the hot and sour soup," Kendra mumbled. Bracken agreed.

"Maybe we'll get fortune cookies at the end," Bracken said, "that would help."

Kendra smiled at him. "Yeah, that'd be cool."

The waitress almost slammed their glasses on the table. They were warm. No ice. "Have you decided what you'd like to eat, eat?" she asked.

"We'll have the hot and sour soup," Kendra said. Bracken nodded. The waitress beamed. "That's the best on the menu! Good choice, good choice!"

"Thank the Lord," Kendra whispered. "Maybe this won't be so bad."

The two whispered, their heads close, while they heard the chef banging around in the kitchen. Bracken sensed the waitress watching them.

"Maybe we should just ditch," Bracken said, pulling out his wallet.

Kendra kissed his cheek. "Come on, let's see how the hot and sour is. Then, you can leave the cash on the table and we can leave, if we need to. Deal?"

He sighed. "Fine."

She smiled at him, and then the soup was in front of them. It didn't look very tasty. Not at all.

"Oh my God!" Kendra gasped as soon as the soup was in her mouth. "Oh my _God! _This is fricken _amazing! _My God…" Kendra took another spoonful and made a little "_Ohhhh…." _noise. Bracken frowned and took a spoonful.

"In the name of the…" He licked his lips and in minutes, the two of them had cleaned their bowls. Kendra was fanning her mouth, since the soup was too hot to eat as quickly as they had done.

"I think I burned my tongue, but it was worth it!" Kendra gasped, scrunching up her face.

"Thank you, ma'am," Bracken said, "we're going to come here again."

He only left her a dollar for a tip, but… well, she could've at least used ice.

The couple stopped for ice cream at Coldstone Creamery, which was expensive, so they left and went across the street to Dairy Queen. That was a bit of a waste, because they ended up having an ice cream fight (that started when Bracken was taking a lick and Kendra pushed the bottom of his cone) and they had to go into the bathroom and clean up.

That is one story I _won't _go into.


	20. Comments!

**Hi, all. It's Nicki. Time for me to answer every single review. That's 39, at the moment. **

**~First off, it's the very first comment on 2-11, by MEEEEE. I will never face the wrath of those turtles. I hope you feed them okay.**

**~PatonxJulia, I can't see how he's a jock, but… well, whatever you say…**

**~Spiritdreamer111, you saved me, if I recall correctly, and I thank you. I thank you again. And again.**

**~bookgirl01, you also helped. Thankies!**

**~no name, thanks! I am too, but I'm always excited.**

**~Foofoo, I want to call you an R-tard, but that would not be nice. So I'll just say it in my head. And out loud. But I won't type it. Just saying.**

**~Kendra, I will. Dur. I'm writing 100 of these things!**

**~P, WOOHOO! THANK THE LORD YOU SAID THAT TO FOOFOO! SHE/HE DESERVES IT! Ehem. Excuse me.**

**~Lefty Blondy, that was my goal :D Glad you did, though. **

**~bookgirl07, hi again, for one :), and that was, at the time, my favorite song. Now it's Kiss it Better by He is We, which is really, REALLY sad, but anyways…**

**~iMelinda! Hi! I'll just answer all of yours on page 2 at once… YES! OH MY LORD, I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH! EVERY TIME I CHECK MY EMAIL, I SEE YOU COMMENTED, AND I LIKE, SCREAM! YOU'RE SO NICE TO ME!**

**~Kelly Song, yeah, I decided she and Bracken deserved an eternity, and it's easier to write when they don't age –blushies-**

**~Scarlet daydreamer, dude, I was thinking about killing myself earlier that day. Don't hate, appreciate. That chappie was more for me than you. Just shut up and enjoy the story.**

**~Maria, is that a problem? I have my own style of writing, and I take pride in that. I don't give a crap if you don't like it, because this is what I do. Find another story if you don't like it.**

**~Hi again iMelinda :D Tanu has epic driving skills. And Seth is just strange. Reminds me of myself…**

**~Scarlet daydreamer, I'm a vegetarian. Do **_**not**_** comment about eating those poor little bunnies on a vegetarian's story. Just a suggestion. And a request.**

**~iMelinda, that's why I did it, pal!**

**~BlueMoonsKitten, OMIGOD I LOVE YOU TOO! Nicely done, that idea!**

**~iMelinda, you're such a good person :D**

**~Scarlet daydreamer, thankies, and I'm sure you're not the only one like that ;D**

**~WarriorDarkAngel, don't hate, appreciate.**

**~Nostalgia, I'll call you that, AHAHAHA. THANKIES. I HOPE THAT'S OKAY. **

**~iMelinda, I was a bit surprised myself, writing it all mushy-lovey, that's not exactly what I do. I normally have a bit of romance in all my stories, to spice it up, you know? Yeah, but never that openly. I think I'm pretty good at it.**

**~iMelinda, again, not only is it a classic Seth thing, it's now a classic me thing. I'd like to think that, anyways. **

**~And, again! Yeah, I know it ended like that, but, um, I ran out of words… and I'm eating breakfast… even though it's 2… ANYWAYS. Lawlz. You're so like, loyal. Like a turtle. You're so chill. Oh my Lord, if I could meet you in real life, but I had to pay Osama bin Laden's followers weapons, I'd give them paper clips and golf clubs and then I'd meet you.**

**Thanks, all. Sorry. It had to be done.**


	21. I'm Sorry Guys!

**Hey everyone… I'm back. Right now. At least, for one story. I know, I know, I've got like 3 going right now; I can't cover them all. And recently… well, reading can't hold my attention right now. I don't know why. So I'm sorry. All stories except my new one (to feed my addiction) are to be postponed. How long? Maybe… summer? If inspiration suddenly comes to me (I highly doubt it), I promise you, I'll update. Cross my heart. Now, my friends, I apologize. **

**Onto my next topic. I have recently developed an obsession with a British show called Doctor Who. If any of you have heard of it, that's fantastic (;D) and for those who haven't, I pity you… But anyway, I'm starting a new story. If I get enough reviews and crap, I'll definitely make it with the girl as a companion, not just a regular chick off the streets with serious luck issues. Otherwise, it'll just be the girl and the Doctor for a bit (It'll take place after Donna, before his regeneration, because David Tennant is brilliant!). **

**Now, I must say… adieu! Ciao! Hola! Pleasant day! **

**Love, Nicki :3 **


	22. Now I'm not so sorry

**Look at me. I'm so talkative. I must get on your nerves. Soooo, I lied. I'm getting into writing again. I just need… let's just say… motivation. I need ideas, whether in the form of just a word or a whole summary of a chappie. **

**This is where you come in.**

**I need ideas. You wanna read about the random events of the people of Fablehaven. I think we can work something out. But seriously, if you wanna read this, at least give me a word. One word. You can do this totally anonymously or using an account, **_**I don't care, **_**just give me ideas! I'm thinking I might do a few based off of colors, or quotes, or pictures, and I'll put up links to these on my profile, but I just don't know. So tell me what you think. Criticize me. Explain your appreciation for me. Express your love for me. I told you, **_**I. Do. Not. Care.**_** But how much longer will it take for you to add in one word? If you need ideas on words:**

**There's probably a dictionary in your house. Find it. Flip to a random page and scroll through. I'm not picky. **

**Got any books in your house? You might not even need to stand up. Just go grab one and go to page… Um, how about 17 or 177 or 277 or something that ends with 7. 7's are nice.**

**Too lazy to do even that? What's your favorite quote? Go ahead, tell me, and tell me why. **

**Favorite animal? Why?**

**Favorite word? Why?**

**Got a crush? A love? Tell me why.**

**How do you wear your hair?**

**Favorite song? Why?**

**Favorite color? Why?**

**10) What was your favorite thing to learn about in school? Why?**

**See, this is a world of words. Words are weapons. The can make people weak. They can make people all warm inside. They can make people wealthy, woebegone, worrisome. **

**In my case, they can make people write.**

**You know your task. **

**~Nicki**

**P.S. – Nothing too naughty, now.**


	23. Slumber

**Oh. My. God. I love you all. So. Very. Much. I promise I'll get to every single one of your suggestions, which will add up to TWENTY NINE CHAPTERS. Plus the quote ones I plan on doing, this will be GREAT. Thank you sooooooo very much! **

**This chapter is dedicated to ThoughtThinker.**

Slumber

"Mmm…"

"Get. Up."

"Nuh-uh."

"Get up. Come on. We have a day in the midst of magic to grab a hold of."

"But I dun' want to."

"I don't care. Get. Up."

"No."

"Kendra."

"Warren."

"Come on, we need you to talk to the fairies for us."

"No thanks."

"Yes thanks. Get up. We need you."

"Skip it. Do something else."

"Kendra!"

"Warren!"

The day had just begun for Warren. He had woken up about an hour ago and showered, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, et cetera. As he was in the kitchen, shoving cereal in his mouth like a spoiled rich kid who spent the night in a crappy hotel without room service, Stan walked into the room. He poured some coffee (in which time Warren attempted to wipe the stray milk from his chin and sit up to try and look at least a little bit civilized) and faced Warren.

"You'll need to wake up Kendra, today, Warren. It shouldn't take too long; she's usually up with her alarm; just go make sure she isn't still in bed. If she is… ah, well, let's just hope she isn't."

And with that, the man exited the room coffee mug in hand. Warren licked his lips and finished his cereal, dropping his bowl in the sink and, after slipping in the milk he'd spilled preparing the food and cleaning it up, he trotted out of the kitchen and gazed at the teenage girl's door. He shuddered.

Kendra's alarm normally went off at eight every morning. Warren had been up at 7:15. He'd heard a few creatures yawn with noises like roars, he'd heard the satyrs beginning their morning tennis match, and he'd heard his brother cuss once or twice because of the cow in the barn. But the one thing he hadn't heard was the music of Kendra's alarm going off.

Which meant she was still in bed.

And no one wanted to deal with a Kendra who was still in bed in the morning.

But it was his turn.

"Please, Kendra, please get up!" Warren begged her.

She buried her cheek into her fluffy blue pillow with a content grin on her face. "Mmm, maybe later."

Warren groaned. "But Kendra, we need you!"

"Ew. No. We're related."

Warren face-palmed. "Not like that, chicka. Just stand up and don't sit back down."

Kendra gazed up at him and frowned lazily. "Hmph. You can't make me." Then she dropped her face back into the pillow.

Warren gazed at the girl's clean, shiny-in-the-sun brown hair, covering her shoulders and most of her back, like a small blanket with thick, somewhat-tangled and fraying strings. Her cheeks were flushed from sleeping under such warm covers, and her thin arms were shoved carelessly under the colder side of the pillow. Her girly pink lips looked slightly dry from not having wetted them over the night, and her long dark eyelashes fluttered softly as she blinked up at him again. Thinking of how… _normal_ she looked, even though she was practically immortal, Warren smiled ever-so-softly…

WAIT. IMMORTAL. Kendra's immortal boyfriend. Perfect.

Warren falsely sighed. "Okay, fine… you can sleep in…"

Kendra smirked and snuggled back into her pillow as Warren spun on his heel and raced away, out of the house and towards the stables. On the way there, he caught sight of Bracken, who _should have_ already been there, caring for the horses, but no, he was…

"Bracken?"

The unicorn turned quickly, holding up his hands and dropping the small knife he had been holding. Then he dropped his hands and sighed. "Oh, Warren, it's just you." He kneeled down and picked up his knife again and slipped it into a belt sheath, glancing at the tree immediately behind him. His body covered the trunk, which made Warren amusedly suspicious.

"Whatcha hiding there, Bracken?" He asked, peering around Bracken's shoulder.

"Nothing." Bracken grinned and moved to the side, revealing a gorgeous heart carved into the tree. The letters K+ B were carved inside it in an intricate font. "I got bored."

Warren traced the heart with his fingers. "Yes you did," he said, blinking in surprise at the grace at which the shape practically radiated. Then he stood up straight.

"Anyway. Kendra's still in bed—" And then Bracken was already dashing out of the tiny clearing, headed for the house.

Kendra didn't notice him when he walked in; she was asleep again. Her room was so familiar to Bracken, and as he sat on the bed next to the sleeping girl, brushing her hair out of her face gently, he wished every moment he had ever spent with her was this peaceful… and then the thought, _You met in a prison in a super-secret preserve owned at the time by a madman who called himself the Sphinx, what did you expect?_ Made him grin down at his love. He softly ran his fingertips along her cheek, murmuring to her, until her eyes flickered open. She gazed around for a moment before smiling and placing her hand over Bracken's. "Hi," she said, blinking at him.

"Hi," he responded, smiling back. "You fell asleep again; why'd you do that?"

Kendra frowned and turned her gaze to his knees. "No reason."

The unicorn stood up, strolling casually over to her desk as if to examine the papers there. The girl in the bed watched him, then she closed her eyes again. Bracken turned slightly, glimpsing her eyelashes on her cheekbones flutter, and he reached for her alarm. His hand met her iPod and, since her iPod dock was her alarm, touched the thick arrow pointing to the right.

The song 'The Real World' by Owl City filled the air, a bit louder than one would normally play music in a silent room, but it was just how Bracken had set it. Kendra leaped to her feet, her head whipping from side to side until her gaze fell on him. She leaped forward; arms outstretched, she grabbed him around his chest, and then fell to the side as if he would fall with her. Just to humor her, he did, but made sure the girl landed on top of him. When they hit the carpet, the unicorn huffed softly.

"Wow, Kendra, you got thinner, haven't you?" he asked, looking down his chest at her. Kendra smacked him.

"You. Are. An. Idiot!"

"Why is that?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

It was her turn to huff, but for a different reason. "Grandpa made me a promise. He told everyone in the house. Including you."

"What?"

"It's Saturday," she moaned.

"And?"

The girl gazed at him as if he were slow and stupid. And perhaps he was; her next words caught him off guard.

"You all promised not to wake me up on Saturdays."

The only words Bracken's mind could think were two, circling over and over around his head.

_Poor Warren. Poor, poor Warren._

**There she be. You should all know by now that when the writing's in caps it's me talking, because typing in A/N= got so darn tedious XD So anyways, thankies again. You've all got quite the amusing winter to look forward to.**


	24. Be Careful With This One, You'll Scream

…**Hi guys. I know, I know, the disappointment is overwhelming right now, isn't it? Yeah, well, um, I have some news. Make sure you're sitting. Duck tape your mouths shut. Tie yourself to a chair. Put bubble wrap on your computer. Done? Good. Well, don't go ripping off the ropes and throwing your computer across the room, now, all right? (That's what the bubble wrap is for). You're going to hate me. Like, HATE me. With a passion that would put lovers to shame. With a fiery zeal that would make the sun run crying to Mommy-Space-Dust. Here goes… **

**Y'all ready? **

**All right. **

**There won't be any more chapters of Days Go On. **

**{Flinch}**

**Oh, yeah, you're all the way in wherever you are. Oops. **

**I still feel bad. **

**But I'm a depressed little nutjob who you'd never even want to communicate with at ALL. EVER. Not in a million bazillion years. Or, you know, ever ever. **

**So that's all. Don't go begging because if I DO post a chappie, it won't be pleasant. Maybe, if I feel the need, I'll have all the characters say goodbye. But probably not. **

**Farewell, all. **

**Best regards, **

**Nicki **


	25. Goodbyes

**A/N: FINE YOU GOT ME. Well, no, but Thought Thinker and Nostalgia's MBF, your comments touched my heart, and I will write this FOR YOU. Just for you. Everyone else may view, but this finale is dedicated to those two people. And guys, I'm sorry about how OOC they've all been, but I haven't read the series in two years, so don't go hating. **

Farewell

The day is beautiful, the leaves on the trees a brilliant emerald, the sky a magnificent azure. You're amazed picturesque scenes like this actually happen, that they're not just in paintings. Nothing's different to the residents of this property, though, because they've seen views like this every day. You stand from the stone bench, stepping across the lawn carefully, as if taking too heavy a step will become a flaw in the landscape. Looking around, you wonder where everyone is, and how they'll react to what you have to say.

Ah, there. Warren and Vanessa, holding hands, slide into your line of sight from around the house, and you choose to wait. As soon as the couple is in front of you, you catch Warren's shoulder. He and his love turn, blinking, curious as to what you have to say.

"I'm leaving," you announce, pushing back your shoulders.

"That's just fine. It was great to have you." Vanessa smiles, placing a hand on your arm. "We'll miss you, I hope you know."

You nod. Of course they will. And you'll miss them.

The two give you a hug and then retreat, continuing their peaceful walk. You stare at the forest again, then decide to find Kendra and Bracken, as well as Seth and the satyrs. Setting your pace at a brisk jog, you maneuver through the brush, marveling at the sights, until you reach the pond. Slipping through the arch, the first thing you see makes you smile sadly. Kendra is running across the lawn from Bracken, who quickly catches up and scoops her into his arms. She lets out a scream that sounds more like a laugh before the two kiss happily. This is the sort of thing you'll miss the most, you realize, as you make your way over to them. Bracken notices you first, setting Kendra down gently on the grass, and she turns to see you. She races up and throws her arms around your shoulders.

"We've known you were going to leave for a while, ever since you stopped visiting," she admits cheerlessly, but with a slight smile that says things much too wise for her age.

"You won't leave our hearts," Bracken says, grinning. He claps you on the back and you hold back a wince. Gosh, he's strong. You move away, casting them one last glance as you disappear through the opening in the hedge. You don't have to turn your path much to get to the tennis courts, and soon you hear the shouts of foul play again. Again picking up your pace to that jog, you move toward the yells, until finally, you slide through the bushes and into the court.

Seth reclines on an expensive-looking lawn chair, though something tells you someone just beat up an old one so the brownies could 'fix it up a bit.' The satyrs, Newel and Doren, are standing face-to-face, each on one side of the net, and they're both screaming. Looking back at Seth, you see the amusement in his gaze, until it moves to meet yours. He looks surprised, for an instant, before beaming at you and gesturing that you cross the court to talk. You do, tensing as you trot up behind Doren, then relaxing as you come within speaking distance of Seth. The smile is still there.

"Hey! How's it going?" he asks, sitting up. You bite your lip.

"Ah, well, I, um…" It's harder for you to say the words to Seth, probably because he's the one you've really gotten to know. Finally, you swallow and breathe out, "I have to leave."

He blinks. His smile falters. "Sure. When will you be back?"

Squeezing your eyes shut, you curse. This is a lot harder than you thought it'd be. "That's the thing, Seth, I won't be coming back. I'm leaving forever."

His smile altogether vanishes, his eyes read out how distraught he really is. "Oh… but, forever is a long time…"

"A long time, yes, but I won't be coming back. I'm sorry," you add, hearing the satyrs calls fade as they listen in. You urge yourself to continue. "I just… I'm not really happy here anymore. No, that's not it, I'm just not… I can't live here anymore. Not just reside, actually _live. _You know?"

He pauses, not meeting your eyes. "Yeah. I get it." Then he smiles again, but the absence of the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes tells you he's faking. "Well, I'll miss you. And I won't forget you, not for a moment."

The satyrs join in. "It was great having you here!" Newel shouts. You grin at the pair, then make your way back to the house. You stand there, in front of the huge building, for what seems like ages. You see Stan and Ruth, and you wave. They've known from the start you were going to need to leave. And then, after all the goodbyes are over and done with, you spin on your heel and walk down the driveway. Dale is there, at the gate, waiting, and he pushes it open for you. He sweeps a hand out in an _after you,_ gesture, and you shake his hand before withdrawing, promenading down the long driveway as he closes the huge gate behind you.

You don't look back.


End file.
